"It Runs in the RUDD Family" PM Rudd’s Youngest Son Joins ALP
Just like Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's older son being appointed as his key adviser, his youngest son, Marcus Rudd, 20 years old, was now also included in his campaign team as part of the Australian Labor Party's digital campaign team.
What can we do? It runs in the Rudd family...
According to a report from the News Limited Network, the youngest Mr Rudd will join ALP's digital campaign team as a volunteer. He will be working closely with some imports from Barack Obama's campaign team. In fact, he did come with a bang when he suggested using a video from the TV satire, "The Hollowmen," without having a single clue that the satirical series was based on his father's first blunder in prime ministership.
If father, Mr Rudd, will continue with his "all in the family" campaign, chances were, he will suffer the same plight as ousted Prime Minister Julia Gillard as his critics are becoming more vocal about his recent political decisions.
The appointment of Mr Rudd's sons prompted a senior government adviser to comment obnoxiously. "People are pretty paid off that both Rudd's sons are going to be there," the adviser said.
Just recently, a senior strategist, Nathan Lambert, was given a new post to make way for NSW State Secretary Sam Dastyari, known for his being a Rudd loyalist.
The replacement became an attack from one father to another.
John Lambert, father of Nathan Lambert, sent an email to Victorian MP Darren Cheeseman blaming the elder Mr Rudd for grave discretion over his son's replacement.
News Corp Australia was able to get hold of the email.
According to Mr Lambert's email, he has "known for a long time that many of those who work around Kevin (Rudd) are poorly looked after by Kevin and his closest advisers - his staff turnover and arguable bullying have made the news regularly."
Mr Lambert wrote that he was "appalled with the fact that Nathan had done an excellent job of setting things in place for the campaign including having funding allocated - but then Kevin had a 'good idea' to bring in some US citizens 'first class' to assist and his henchmen then demanded 20% of Nathan's budget. When Nathan tried to negotiate a compromise they set about getting rid of him - absolute bullying of the worst kind."
However, ALP clarified that no demotion happened. Mr Nathan Lambert was tasked to do data management, while Mr Dastyari will manage marginal seat operations. Mr John Lambert then retracted his email.
But running a family show was not the only thing being criticised about the Rudd government.
His harsh PNG asylum seeker policy was under attack, his hefty travel allowances were under scrutiny, his policy on benefits tax perks for company cars was a total turn-off, and, of course, there was his reckless half-million funding to national Live Music.
As how Steven Scott, National Political Correspondent of The Courier Mail put it, Rudd risks inevitable upsets.
"What if, as now expected, Rudd can't afford to reverse Gillard's cuts to welfare for single parents? What if universities don't see their promised increases in funding restored? The chances are, some people will be let down by Rudd. He has to make sure he manages the inevitable disappointments while making a case to voters for another term in power," Mr Scott wrote in his article.