September 12, 2007
It's going to be the story of the day--- leadership destabilisation in the Liberal Party. The story has legs and it will be everywhere in Canberra, no matter how much the senior Liberals--Downer, Abbott and Minchin-- dutifully try to manage it by declaring their undying love for the greatest Australian Prime Minister since Menzies; or how they will stand by their man.

The media love this stuff--- 'kill the emperor' is their narrative. They own it and they will be squeezing their political sources for the good juice and the latest gossip to keep the destablizing narrative going. The body language will be analyzed as they probe a situation in which the Prime Minister limps on to the election too wounded to win, but too strong yet to remove.
It will be interesting to watch how the media in the Canberra hothouse cover this unfolding tragedy of the blinded, wounded emperor that signifies the end of an era. The media will become the story as the Canberra Press Gallery talk to one another on Sky News and on the radio about what they have written and trade insights.The media story is the main political event.
Sky News is geared up to air all the different angles and it will be the raw material for the other media organizations. As Mark Day observes:
...a 24-hour news channel can go live to the event and deliver on the promise of a full coverage, including every press conference from start to finish. There are two main audiences for this coverage: the political cognoscenti who participate in the process or demand to observe every nuance, and the rest of the media. To them, Sky News is a valuable resource, an instant transcript in every newsroom across the nation. Politicians know this.
The wounded leader scenario will be hosed down, but the recriminations and damage will linger and surface ensuring the LiIberals themselves remain the main story.
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Gary,
Janet Howard cannot be pleased with all this treachery and betrayal for the great man. She will see treachery wearing a smiling face as it stalks the corridors of power plotting the demise of the Great One.