What Did You Expect?

Last Thursday was an historic day here in Australia - at 9:20am on 24/06/2010 we were told (first via Twitter and Facebook) that we have a new Prime Minster, Julia Gillard. That she is our first female PM is what makes this a monumental day in Australian federal politics. That she is replacing a PM during his very first term in office is also historic - last time this happened was during the Great Depression (hmmm...)

Also interesting the number of reactions I have encountered this morning in person and via email and text. Lots of people are outraged and upset that they didn’t get to vote for Julia direct. Clearly that’s what some of you expect ... that you have a right to say WHO leads. But that's not what elections are for - a least not in this country which is part of the Commonwealth. The notion that we, the people, get to elect a specific person as PM is erroneous in our political paradigm which is based in the Westminster system of party politics not personality politics. The confusing thing for a lot of Australians right now is that the ALP ran a US-style "presidential campaign" - Kevin '07 - and lots of voters forgot they were voting for the whole party not just the man himself. Now that the ALP has realised the man they chose is no longer the golden-haired favourite (shown by the polls) the power brokers in the back room did what they always do (on both sides ...) and forced the issue. They forced the issue now because they want the ALP to win a second term and the numbers clearly showed that with Kevin at the helm this would not happen. This is the political game that has been played for centuries so why are people so upset? Because we expected something different and instead got the same old, same old ...

That the world is run by those that have the most influence and clout is still how it works. That we think/feel it “should” be different is immaterial. That it will change is inevitable and we have a huge opportunity to influence how it changes - by continuing to have the conversations that make a difference, by using the technology to connect with people everywhere and by choosing to step-up and speak up and engage from love not fear.

What I love is that we now have women in 5 of the top political jobs in our country - our new PM, The Governor General, The Governor of NSW and The Premiers of NSW and QLD. WOW! This is what my mother told me was possible when I was a teenager ... and here we are with a woman as the leader of our nation. I believe these girls have the opportunity to rock the house if they would only lead from their feminine and bring that energy to bear on our world stage.

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Expectation - a prescription for disappointment.