Any Way the Winds Blow

Knitting a kangaroo for the baby of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
Last Wednesday I flew to Perth for a customer meeting.  Perth is on the West Coast, the flight can take from 2.5 hours to a lifetime depending on how the trade winds and the political winds are blowing.  Last Wednesday apparently there was a political typhoon, because when we took off Julia Gillard was the Prime Minister of Australia and by the time we landed Kevin Rudd was now in charge.

As ridiculous as politics might seem in the States, they are even more so in Australia.  The country holds elections at least every three years and 140 days where they vote for their House of Representative and Senate members.  Whichever political party holds the majority representation in the House chooses a leader who the Governor-General commissions to become Prime Minister.  Apparently elections can be held whenever they want with a minimum of one month after the last election.  Got that all?  So sort of exactly like the US but not really at all.

So rewind three years ago, Kevin Rudd was PM and called a "leadership ballot."  In a surprise move he was ousted from the position by Julia Gillard.  Now three years later she calls a leadership ballot and is ousted by Kevin Rudd.  And the election hasn't even happened yet, so odds are the other party will win the majority and there will be yet another PM by the end of the year.





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