You can not rely on Disasters to save you.

Tragedy has it’s benefits for political entities. The Chilean leader must still be reeling from the air time. Giuliani turned his declining polls into an honorary knighthood. George W Bush used it as a springboard to dramatically upgrade security laws. And Anna Bligh looks like she has secured the State of Origin for the next decade at least.

She is right. The truth will be in the pudding over the next coming months and years. If she is smart, she will concentrate on what needs to be done and set about doing them. She has been given a bitter pill. She has not hesitated. But this in and of itself will not be her saviour. The people of Queensland are willing to walk with her. But she has to start walking.

The message is something that the federal political parties should heed. Whilst both leaders quibble over leadership skills, Bligh decided to take the lead. Whilst both leaders look for situations where they can lead, Bligh dealt with the  situation dealt with her. She dealt in what is happening now.

And this is a big thing for the ALP to remember. While it is nice to talk about visions, you must also deal with the present. Leadership is not about talking the lead just on the big issues. Further, add a whole lot of little issues together and you suddenly have a big issue. If you concentrate on what people want rather than what people need, you will falter and fail.

Likewise for the LIBERAL party and the Coalition. While it is nice to point out the problems of the present, you must stop living in the past. Do not present your policies as tweaks of current or planned policies but collate them as one grand pie first and then serve them one slice at a time and let the people see the whole pie on their own. If all you can do is offer the occasional tweak to an already working engine, then this does not bode well.

The planet is 70 odd percent water. So are we. We gestate in liquid. Water is the cradle of life. So it is disturbing to see it become a tool of death and destruction.

But probably not as disturbing as how I chose to end this little piece. In tribute of  Anna Bligh….

…

A. Ghebranious  2011    (All Rights Reserved)