Showdown at Kooyong

In about one hour, incumbent member Petro Georgiou will discover whether he has lost his seat to former Alexander Downer staffer Josh Frydenberg. Should Frydenberg win the seat, the result will mean curtains to the brief period of lenient refugee policy. It will also be seen as a boost to Downer's likely leadership prospects in the future, as has increasingly been rumoured as Peter `Always The Bridesmaid' Costello becomes ever glummer. When asked about it during his recent trip to the Solomons, Downer simply giggled as if someone had chucked him under the chin, shook his head, ended the press conference, and took everyone out for a round of mint juleps. Oh, everyone would like a chap like him as a PM!

Speaking of changes of leadership, British PM Tony Blair's interview with Michael Parkinson last night was quite an eye opener. I've certainly had my disagreements with Blair's policies over his nine years in power, which has included dismantling many of the strong socialist and Fabian foundations of the British Labour movement, not to mention involving Britain so deeply in the Iraq War, a move I will never agree with him on. But his comments on the way politicians must arrive at their decisions is very interesting (not to mention the differences and similarities he has handled the transition of leadership to Gordon Brown, as compared to the Howard/Costello situation). If you didn't catch the interview itself, it's worth a look (caveat emptor: I've had trouble with the Parkinson website; the interview either loads partially or not at all. You may have more luck).