Ed Kicker: Why brand Gillard must swing right

Tue, 06 July 2010 1 Comments

Obviously, I hit on something when I recently wrote how you could judge a politician and their branding by the colour of the ties they wore. Rudd was always confused as a politician, wearing a blue tie. It was never to be.

But where does this leave our new Prime Minister Julia Gillard, somebody who doesn’t even wear a tie? With red hair, she always has her colours on show but she faces unique challenges in her personal branding as an unmarried woman, with a boyfriend, who doesn’t even believe in god.

Despite the larrikin reputation of Australia, outside the world of inner city lefties, it is a deeply conservative place. Howard pandered to this element courting the xenophobic vote and with his morning power walks in his tracksuit in the Australian team colours.

Rudd didn’t do any of this but, a deeply religious man, wore god on his sleeve. And let’s face it he was a bit boring and a goody goody.

Gillard has to tread a careful route. Because her personal life is not conservative, her policies have to be more conservative to balance out her branding. That’s why on refugee policy, she’ll swing to the right as she will have to on other issues.

Will this first female labor Prime Minister be a Liberal in everything but name?