Political cynicism and spin management is alive and well in Canberra.
On the same day The Australian had details of the latest Newspoll showing that for the first time every mainland state was showing the Libs and Nats leading Labor and Gillard trailing the personal popularity stakes the government announced in the morning that women would serve in frontline Defence combat roles.
Actually it wasn't a new policy, it was a reannouncement. They'd already announced this a few months back but, hey, Julia's copping it from the shock jocks so let's just put something out there that will excite the talkback callers and take the heat off the leadership talk.
It was pathetic and cynical, but it worked. It was straight out of the former Labor government in NSW's manual of media management. Announce something then a few months later reannounce it, especially if it is good news.
To give credit to Gillard's new spin doctor, the announcement about women in combat roles had some juicy bits the previous announcement didn't have. The news that women would be shoehorned into the Commando regiments and the SAS. But we all figured that out anyway when the original announcement was made.
It will hardly take the heat off the government. A tax summit is on this week and the overwhelming sentiment is that it is an opportunity for the Green tail to wag the Labor dog again with The Greens throwing up thought bubbles about city congestion taxes, increasing the GST and extending the mining tax to include gold - "Canberra's screwing us again". The carbon tax will become law within the next two months and the long suffering public will be loudly screaming "Enough!"
It doesn't matter how much media management and spin this government comes up with, the fact is that the well has been poisoned by four long years of Labor mismanagement. The public is being force fed poisoned Kool-Aid in a 21st century version of the Jonestown massacre.
Gillard is performing her last act in the Labor play and the man with the hook is waiting in the wings.
