September 19, 2007
Catherine Deveny has an op-ed in The Age in which she argues that voters are becoming politically engaged---there's ' a real feeling that it's time for a new direction.'

Leunig
Deveny says that people are wanting blood on the floor:
The angry and disillusioned are hoping for a grudge match come election night. It's not enough for the Howard Administration to be voted out. People want to see blood. They want to see Howard cockily strutting into the election claiming smugly, "We are the underdog" — a sure-fire sign that a party thinks they've got it in the bag — only for it to go horribly wrong as the votes come in.
Not everyone is angry and disillusioned. I saw a lot of people doing very nicely when I was in cosmopolitan Melbourne, holidaying these last three days. Why would they change?
Sure, it was the Brack's Government, not Howard + Co, who transformed Melbourne into a great and prosperous city. by building on Kennett's reforms. Sure that transformation has taken place within the context of national boom of the 1990s. So there is a lot of money of circulating through Melbourne city thanks to the Howard Liberals.
Are the people who live in, and by, the market wanting a bit of blood? They may see politics as a blood sport, but many would want just Howard to go and Costello to take over and for the modernized Liberals to reign forever. They see Costello conservatism to be different from Howard conservatism--it's softer, more modern and has more of a touch of liberalism.
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Deveny may wrongly feel that being at chick parties watching footy is the new Melbourne cool, but she's right about people wanting change. I want blood:Howard to lose both the election and his seat of Bennelong. I'm tired of the Liberals.