Politics

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Australia is once again going through a political crisis, with some members of the ruling party trying to throw out the Prime Minister. To understand this, you need to understand something of Australian politics. We have two main levels of government, state and federal, and at each level there are two houses of parliament, the lower house and the upper house (except for Queensland, which ditched their upper house some years back.) At elections, even though we vote for individuals, we are actually voting for the parties those individuals represent (except in the case of independents, who represent themselves.) The party which ends up with most elected representatives takes government, and the leader of that party becomes the leader of the state (Premier) or the nation (Prime Minister.) However, the governing party can decide to change their leader. If that happens, the person who is ousted remains the representative for his/her electorate, but the new person appointed by the party becomes the Premier or Prime Minister, as the case may be. The current (at least till noon today) Prime Minister has been very unpopular with the people, and with a federal election due next year a number of people in the party have decided that he needs to go. One attempt to get rid of him two days ago failed, but those wanting him gone immediately started gathering numbers for a second attempt. He is trying desperately to hang on to power, but the second showdown is likely to be at noon today. Personally, I will be glad to see him gone, but I'm not sure that those offering themselves as alternatives will be any better. I really wish that we had politicians who were interested in dealing with the problems in the country, rather than worrying about their own position and power.