KARMA-PHALA November 23, 2007
Posted by wmmbb in Australian Politics.trackback
John Howard at the National Press Club finally gets his act together and distills out the three reasons for re-electing him and his government. In his last national address before the election in two days, Howard said that he had lead a strong reformist government government, had a plan for the future, and no case for change had been successfully made by his opponents. So what happens? Liberal campaign workers, including the husbands of the previous member and the current member are caught distributing bogus leaflets suggesting something like Labor supports Muslims, now effectively scapegoated as terrorists apparently in the minds of many. These are not young enthusiasts, they include a member of the Liberal Party State Executive.
How did they get that idea? Could it be that unlike leaders from the Jewish Community, who I am pleased today came out and reminded us where that might lead, the leader of the Country who did not? If he did so, my poor ability to comprehend would be so compromised as to make clear interpretation impossible. Perhaps Pontius Pilat was using symbolism, but his meaning was clear( although I understand that the Greek text of the Gospel reports was later amended to cast blame on those gathered and on their descendants). A putative leader of the country, now Deputy Leader of the Liberals, could not say that such scapegoating was unacceptable, but dismiss it while making narrow appeals to self interest.
So karma-phala – the fruits of his actions – appear at last to have caught up with J Howard.
Postscript:
It goes without saying that this story is handled better and more comprehensively elsewhere including by Tim Dunlop and John Quiggin, who mentions it in his update.
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