So now it starts to become clearer. Julia Gillard is the real stumbling block inside the Labor Government, if this story is accurate … and I am betting it is.
In short it shows that Gillard basically wants this risk off the table to preserve her fragile government, betting that equality supporters care less about change than the Christian Right. That’s a big bet. And it’s a stupid one as the last week’s growing momentum for change show. Both supporters of equality and those who dislike Gillard now have the perfect stick to beat her with.
This unlikely alliance of the liberal left and the anti-Gillard right could be the biggest possible bloc of support for equality.
This story rings true for several reasons …
1) The biggest risk has always been that Labor would push for civil unions as a compromise position between equality advocates and the Christian Right. This appears to have been one planned outcome from the alleged 2009 deal.
2) We know there was some deal to keep this from tearing the Labor party apart in 2009 – so news of a deal fits this existing presumption
3) We also know that is extremely unlikely that Penny Wong wasn’t backing equality inside the party. This story tends to vindicate her because it explains why she was so tight-lipped during the election, but now that the deal has fallen apart it also shows the fatal flaw of the deal (now Gillard is PM her efforts have come to little)
4) We also know that Anthony Albanese would definitely have been present in any such discussions. The fact that he was part of the deal explains why this long-time supporter has been so quite of late, while his right-wing opposite numbers have been out backing equality.
Tags: Anthony Albanese gay marriage, Julia Gillard gay marriage, Kevin Rudd gay marriage, Penny Wong gay marriage
