ALL was bliss at the 43rd birthday party of the Devonport Senior Citizensâ Club in the marginal north-west Tasmanian electorate of Braddonâ¦
The clubâs choir â its men sporting natty blue bow-ties and crisp white shirts, its women radiant in light blue scarves, apart from the one dressed, unaccountably, in a catsuit â sat prepared for song on stageâ¦
The locally noted accordion player, John Young, a large man with a broad Scots accent, had just finished a rendition of Chariots of Fire with his vocalist partner Grace Krause and they were poised to swing into the remainder of their musical delectation. Then all hell broke loose. Federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd, local Labor candidate Sid Sidebottom and a field assault of media burst into the clubâs hall.
Mr Young, quivering with indignation, unslung his squeezebox and, Ms Krause in tow, stormed offstage and out of the hall. He paced angrily around the car park, roaring about the outrage of it all. How dare this fellow Rudd interrupt his performance; how dare he impose himself on a senior citizensâ birthday party; how dare he politicise such an event, the accordion player bellowed.
âHe just walked in and took over! The height of bad manners! John Howard wouldnât have done it!â
Back inside, things were going from bad to worse for the Opposition Leader. Another member of the choir, David Vowles, couldnât contain himself. He walked up to Mr Rudd and Mr Sidebottom and said what was on his mind.
âYou spoiled the party, you ignorant bastards,â he spat.
For the Left to make any real advance all these perspectives on the relationship to Labor in government need to be rejected in favour of a concept of strategic support for Labor governments. We need to recognise the only possibility for major social change is under a long period of Labor administration. Within that administration the Left needs to be willing to participate to shape political outcomes, recognising the need to except (sic) often unpalatable compromises in the short term to bolster the prospect of future advance. The task of pushing back the current political constraints by changing public opinion would need to be tackled by the Left through government, social movements and trade unions.

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