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NATIONAL
- NRMA
The NSW National Road Motorist's Association, a mutual society and owner of the nation's largest insurance company is in the throes of a revolution. Against the opposition of Olympic Heroes and ordinary citizens, a consortium of bankers and business leaders is working to divest the insurance business. Various barriers calculated to disenfranchise the voters who would tend to oppose demutualization are being emplaced. Let us see whether cupidity will win out over long term benefit.
- THE REPUBLIC
The national daily AUSTRALIAN has come out on the side of the republic. No surprise. Since Lachlan took over a short while past the rag has definitely rotted. About the only interesting thing he ever did was hire etom. (Featured in the Saturday Ozzie). Maybe the old goat will come to his senses and decide that ink is thicker than nepotism. Probably, though, he, like most other Y2K aware CEO's, is wondering if he will still have anything to his name in six months....
So why the urgency to have the Republic bedded
down?
Johnnie Howard probably doesn't care if the Republic gets an elected
president,
so long as it isn't in his term. Spin suspects that
powerbrokers
are worried that if it is not passed now, then it will still be on the
books, and who knows where that might lead. Australians
might
not stop at just wanting an elected president, they might decide to
want
the Swiss Canton system of government. And the Swiss Canton style
of government seems far less bribeable subject to
lobbying
than the Westminster or Presidential systems.
Of course the arguments by the Turnbull Republicans
are
quoted ad nauseum. Turnbull Republicans are
chorusing
"We want an Australian Head of State" (Spin thinks that
argument
is probably racist) or "Lets get it done now and fix it up later"
which of course suggests an obvious retort for Mack Republicans, which
would be "Lets get it done right this time, in 1901 we
compromised
& accepted second best, which is why we are doing it again in 2001."
INTERNATIONAL
- SERBIA.
As warned by SPIN, Readers of recent copies of the LA Times, UN troops and the US people are beginning to realize that the terms of their "victory" over Slobbo were actually the terms of defeat. The clue that the war was lost by NATO is seen in the failure of UN troops to occupy Yugoslavia, as specified in the Rambouillet Accord. There is a high likelihood that the victory against Yugoslavia will produce a situation that will make the English experience of Ireland look like a picnic.
The harsh practicalities that NATO will have to face up to are the need to restrain the Albanians, and the promise to keep Kosovo as part of Yugoslavia. Of course Slick Willie could easily break these small promises, but he will probably be gone when those particular pigeons come in to roost. Perhaps (but not very likely) his successor will be a man of honor. (after all, his successor will be a politician, and unless US pollies are a lot different to Australian pollies, that means the man will be a bribeable professional liar. No power broker or kingmaker would trust a politician who was not motivated by self interest - after all, look at Adolf, he was an idealist.)
- WILLIE.
Talking about Clinton. One can sympathize with the average US citizen, and the reasoning behind why Jane or John Doe does not want to see him go. If Slick goes, the replacement might well be worse. I reckon that if Beatty went for the job, he would be a shoo in. I mean he might be Liberal or Right wing but he is someone we have known for a long time, and trust.
Who wants slick politicians? Honest is better every time.
What really fails Hillary for SPIN - she is a lawyer.
This page published 15 August 1999.