The War On Women Isn't Importable

On June 27, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard was ousted by Kevin Rudd. Rudd served as prime minister from 2007 until 2010, when Gillard ousted him in a leadership election.  It’s ironic that she suffered the same fate as her predecessor. Gillard was Australia’s first female prime minister, but her tenure as Leader of the Labor Party was called into question after the conservative Liberal Party began to maintain their lead in the polls ahead of the federal election this year. However, Gillard tried to import the disingenuous tactics of American liberals before her defeat by declaring that there’s a war on women down under. Guy Benson at Townhall posted about this rather amusing episode in Australian politics on July 1. In the end, the ploy completely backfired.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s attempt to marginalise the opposition by claiming it would change abortion rights and sideline women has backfired with a poll yesterday showing male voters are deserting her. Gillard, the country’s first female leader, last week reignited a simmering gender war by saying in a speech that government would be dominated by “men in blue ties” should opposition leader Tony Abbott assume office in September elections. “It’s a decision about whether, once again, we will banish women’s voice from the core of our political life,” said the embattled prime minister in the speech, desperate to shore up waning support. “We don’t want to live in an Australia where abortion again becomes the political plaything of men who think they know better.” But the ploy has backfired with a poll in Fairfax Media showing male voters are abandoning Gillard and the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and there is little sign of more women getting behind her.

The telephone poll of 1,400 voters found that since the last survey a month ago Labor’s standing has continued to slide, led entirely by a seven percent exodus of men. Under a two-party vote, the conservative opposition would romp home in the September 14 elections with 57 per cent (up three points) to 43 per cent (down three points) for Labor.

Concerning that seven percent exodus of male Labor supporters, the Sydney Morning Herald, which Benson cites in his piece, noted that:

If reflected at the election, that would mean a 7 per cent swing to the Coalition on the 50-50 hung Parliament result of 2010, and mean the loss of 30 or more seats, virtually halving Labor’s representation now.

So, it’s a good thing that the pernicious nature of American progressivism is contained at our shores.  On the other hand, after 2012, it seems that conservatives will need to endure – and fight – such inanity during every election cycle.  For Australia’s left-leaning politicos, their botched attempt at fomenting a war on women just inched the conservative Liberals closer to creating a majority government.