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No she deserves nothing. She's good only for back stabbing. She didn't have to call a general election. Her timing was not what you'd expect from a shrewd political operator. She's despised.

Kevin, is that you?!? :eek:

Firstly, yes I did laugh at the UK not long ago. I'll take my licks on that one. But can I ask that as you send me to the wall and start loading the guns of the firing squad that you ignore common practice and give everyone a live round. Wouldn't want the buggers sleeping at night after my death... Long live the Republic!

Secondly, the constitution is very clear that the incumbant should remain as the caretaker Prime Minister until a new government is formed... we got that system off the UK. Oh, and as for your statement that the Coalition hold more seats they have 72 seats, the same as Labor. There is another National from Western Australia but he has refused to join a Coalition caucus because the WA Nationals have gone 'feral' (in the words of their own leader).

Thirdly, Rudd became leader by knocking off the previous leader. He can hardly complain when he was defeated in the same way... come to think of it Abbott got his job the same way... funny that!

Lastly, but not least, although we did not win neither did anyone else and so all sides are attempting to form a stable government... and if the Coalition can do so then they will form government. Lovely thing this Westminster system, so democratic.

Oops, no lastly is that the evil, back stabbing, despised Julia Gillard is still leading every poll as preferred Prime Minister!

Davout - I'll respectfully disagree. Hockey may be a fool but Abbott is one scary dude!

Cheers,
Dury.

+1 Republican Spain
+1 Neville Chamberlain
 
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No she deserves nothing. She's good only for back stabbing. She didn't have to call a general election. Her timing was not what you'd expect from a shrewd political operator. She's despised.

Kevin, is that you?!? :eek:

Firstly, yes I did laugh at the UK not long ago. I'll take my licks on that one. But can I ask that as you send me to the wall and start loading the guns of the firing squad that you ignore common practice and give everyone a live round. Wouldn't want the buggers sleeping at night after my death... Long live the Republic!

Secondly, the constitution is very clear that the incumbant should remain as the caretaker Prime Minister until a new government is formed... we got that system off the UK. Oh, and as for your statement that the Coalition hold more seats they have 72 seats, the same as Labor. There is another National from Western Australia but he has refused to join a Coalition caucus because the WA Nationals have gone 'feral' (in the words of their own leader).

Thirdly, Rudd became leader by knocking off the previous leader. He can hardly complain when he was defeated in the same way... come to think of it he isn't complaining but stumped for Julia because he didn't want the other mob to win an election through no fault of their own.

Lastly, but not least, although we did not win neither did anyone else and so all sides are attempting to form a stable government... and if the Coalition can do so then they will form government. Lovely thing this Westminster system, so democratic.

Oops, no lastly is that the evil, back stabbing, despised Julia Gillard is still leading every poll as preferred Prime Minister!

Davout - I'll respectfully disagree. Hockey may be a fool but Abbott is one scary dude!

Cheers,
Dury.

+1 Republican Spain
+1 Neville Chamberlain

Several people at work are from Christchurch... it's a bit solemn here today.
 
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+1 Japan and Eden.
 
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(BTW I suspect El Pip is being so slow in the updates because he is engrossed in Tony Blair's new book)

From what I heard, the author is apparently quite popular among the Irish. :p

Dodging eggs, not exactly a good way to start off a book tour.
 
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From what I heard, the author is apparently quite popular among the Irish. :p

Dodging eggs, not exactly a good way to start off a book tour.

Controversy sells books!

I hear he may cancel a London signing because of the threat of protesters. Can't blame him really, after a shoe was thrown at him in Dublin I'd hate to go to London where ever second person is wearing Doc Martin's... those things would HURT! :(

Dury.
 
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Controversy sells books!

I hear he may cancel a London signing because of the threat of protesters. Can't blame him really, after a shoe was thrown at him in Dublin I'd hate to go to London where ever second person is wearing Doc Martin's... those things would HURT! :(

Someone threw a show at the former Prime Minister? :eek:

Shoes are expensive (got a new pair today). In this economy, people shouldn't literally be throwing money around.
 
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Kevin, is that you?!? :eek:

I laughed. Too true.

But Dury, this is not the NSW Right. 1 vote each per day, no branch stacking.

Nathan, the television footage showed a thong landed on Blair's car so there must have been an Australian protesting. So no need to worry, because there won't be any need for money in the Labor-Green utopia of peace, love and co-operation which the new Australian minority government has now promised everyone.

+1 Spain, +1 Eden.
 
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But Dury, this is not the NSW Right. 1 vote each per day, no branch stacking.

Damn, thought I got away with that one... ;) Well, I'll go today without voting to even the score...

Dury.
 
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It has, I admit, been a while but I blame work; we're moving offices and that requires packing an entire building including mysterious basement. It was not a complete disaster though, as my firm did the design work for the Mulberry Harbours I did find large piles of interesting documents, some of which may eventually work their way into this very AAR. Which is nice.

For the rest it appears the usual suspects have lined up as you'd expect on Australian politics so no need for me to reply to that lot, bar confirming that Davout is correct about Wales' most missed export. :D

Update today as I have both time and no writers block, which is wonderful change.
 
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It was not a complete disaster though, as my firm did the design work for the Mulberry Harbours I did find large piles of interesting documents, some of which may eventually work their way into this very AAR. Which is nice.

Wow, lucky you. :cool:
 
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Chapter CII: The Importance of Succession Planning - Part II
Chapter CII: The Importance of Succession Planning - Part II

That the Conservative leadership campaign ended up as a three horse race is a testament to the quality of the candidates, but not necessarily a wholly positive testament. As we have seen the party's elder statesmen would have preferred a coronation, however there was no stand out choice and each of the candidates had their share of strengths and faults. This, along with the need to balance the views of the various Conservative party tribes, did not make the job of selecting a leader any easier.

Though three names made it onto the party's informal short-list for much of the party the contest was something of a binary choice; two of the candidates (Anthony Eden and Alfred Duff Cooper) being very similar and presenting a very stark contrast to the third, Neville Chamberlain. Indeed had the leadership election been held under the more conventional ballot rules the popular view held that one or other of Eden or Cooper would have been knocked out in the opening rounds leaving the survivor to mop up the support of his former rival and romp home to a convincing victory over Chamberlain. However in the absence of such a system Chamberlain was able to survive and put his not inconsiderable case. At it's simplest he was the experience candidate in every sense of the word; he had first served as a government minister before his leadership rivals had even entered Parliament. If that had been the limit of his appeal, an old hand to steady the ship, he would have been in trouble for there were no shortage of elderly Conservative MPs who could boast even longer service and presumably therefore greater 'experience'. The meat of Chamberlain's campaign was his strength as a performer, both in the House and the media, and his grasp of the domestic agenda, both the economics and the social reforms coming from his personal fiefdom the Conservative Research Department. Against those strengths were two significant weaknesses; firstly Chamberlain was not a popular figure in the party, even those who respected and supported him did not actually like him, in a real election this would have been fatal, as it was it was merely damaging. The second weakness, however, was far more serious, as a senior figure in the Baldwin government, and a keen supporter of the abortive Hoare-Laval Pact, he was disliked by the hawk factions and mistrusted by a large portion of the rest of the party at large.

The remaining two candidates, Eden and Cooper, shared more than a few similarities and were the subject of many jokes about being the 'Young Guard' (Eden was one of the youngest cabinet minister and Cooper had served in the Grenadier Guards, though as these were political jokes they didn't actually have to be amusing. In stark contrast to Chamberlain both had served in the trenches in the Great War, both being decorated for their service, both had racked up a creditable, if relatively short, number of years as a minister, both had solid anti-appeasement credentials and both were regarded as cutting a fine figure in society. For all their other individual talents and abilities the two men chiefly differed in their weaknesses, both personally and politically. Eden's great weakness, aside from his relative youth, was his quite terrible public speaking which afflicted him everywhere from the campaign trail to the Commons, it even affected him in Cabinet meetings. Marginally less serious was his lack of experience, not only because it worried many party members but because he had not had the time to build up the network of colleagues and bank of favours many considered vital for a leader. In contrast to Eden, Duff Cooper's problems were somewhat more base and stemmed from what many saw as the fundamental contradiction in his character; he was a loyal man of principle who regularly and vigorously cheated on his wife. It is hard to say which caused more offence to the moralistic wing of the party; the affairs themselves, the fact his wife wasn't bothered by them or the way his marriage stayed strong, loving and stable throughout. While his fast living offended the socially conservative sections of the party it was his principles that offended the hawks, a committed Francophile Cooper continued to support the Entente Cordial against all opposition and remained convinced in the value of the Anglo-French Alliance, even as opinion in Westminster and the nation turned against it.

BaNGkCP.jpg

Alfred Duff Cooper, Minister for War during the Abyssinian War and, at the time of the leadership contest, Home Secretary. Perhaps the best description give of Cooper was a 'homme d'affaires' as he embodied both it's actual meaning, a businessman, and it's literal translation, a man of affairs. While many of his contemporaries were distracted by the latter, there is no doubt that he had a prodigious appetite for extra-marital activities, it should not mask his abilities in the former, beneath the charming playboy exterior he was an intelligent and capable man who too many rivals simply dismissed as a dilettante. If nothing else his war time service should have been a warning not to under-estimate him, while still a second lieutenant he had forced the surrender of 18 German soldiers while armed only with a pistol, earning himself a Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for conspicuous gallantry. At the time the DSO was the second highest award for gallantry and intended for Majors and above, when given to junior officers such as Cooper it was a recognition that the recipient had just missed out on a Victoria Cross.

Of the final three it appears Cooper was the first to be discarded, for all his qualities he had united too many of the Tory Tribes against him, it is no exaggeration to say it was his contradictions that did for his chances. Had he been as flexible over foreign policy as he was with his marriage vows, or applied the same commitment to monogamy as he did to Francophilia, he could have won, however such changes were just not in his nature. This left just Eden and Chamberlain, two very different potential leaders with very different backgrounds and priorities; the experienced Chamberlain was stronger on domestic politics but still tainted on defence and foreign policy, whereas the somewhat wet behind the ears Eden was already strong on foreign policy and solid enough on defence, but a lightweight on domestic policy. Despite attempts at arranging a caretaker Premiership, Chamberlain serving as Prime Minster until the next election when Eden would replace him, the choice was in the end decided by the strength of opposition to each candidate. While the opposition against Chamberlain was ferociously vigorous opponents of Eden were merely unsure if it was too soon and so caved in first, leaving the way clear for Anthony Eden to be selected as leader of the Conservative Party and so Prime Minister.

In amongst Eden's first actions as leader two stand out as being significant, his cabinet reshuffle, or the lack of it, and his first venture into domestic policy as Prime Minister. For cabinet the bare minimum Eden needed to do was appoint a new Foreign Secretary, and that bare minimum was all he did, promoting the Attorney General, Sir Thomas Inskip, to the Foreign Office and drafting in Sir Donald Somervell to replace him. The lack of a full reshuffle has been taken as signifying either the unstable and fractious nature of the cabinet or that Eden didn't feel confident enough to try and stamp his authority on the party, the third option (that Eden wanted stability and continuity) doesn't fit the neat narrative of later events and so is rarely mentioned. In any event the most significant point for our immediate purpose is his choice of Inskip, a man Eden would later describe as 'Likeable, friendly but lacking in drive or energy', hardly an ideal choice for the demanding role of Foreign Secretary in the turbulent 1930s, unless of course you were looking for a pliable colleague who could be easily 'directed' by a Prime Minister with an interest in Foreign Affairs. Eden's other significant act was his attempt at resolving the still ongoing boilermakers strike, which was still the most urgent domestic matter despite the slow decline in support as the more desperate union men drifted back to work. The grand gesture was a government subsidised re-training scheme to help riveters move across to the new trade of welding without having to fight reluctant employers or lose out financially. Depending on your view point it was either a well intentioned, but catastrophically misjudged, display of Eden's social conscience or a cunning and devious scheme to split the union movement, either way the consequences were swift and far reaching.

The scheme not only caused a split between the ambitious Transport and General Worker's Union (TGWU) and the traditional United Society of Boilermakers and Iron and Steel Shipbuilders (USBISS), it also caused internal splits within USBISS. For the USBISS leadership the offer confirmed their worst fears, the government intended to destroy the craft unions and forever remove their control of training and skills, a loss of power the senior ranks were determined to resist. In contrast amongst the lower ranks, particularly the apprentices, it was seen as a tempting offer, having very little invested in they system, and the prospect of years of work and learning ahead, the chance to leap ahead into a more modern field was a golden opportunity. The TGWU, showing the ruthless ambition it was infamous for in the union movement, leapt at the scheme and began an active 'poaching' campaign to hover up disaffected riveters and get them trained up. The overall effect, aside from yet more bad blood in the halls of the Trades Union Congress, was to severely weaken the strike numerically but harden the resolve of the remaining strikers, a not insignificant problem when they were by and large the most experienced and skilled men. Though the dispute would continue to rumble on well into the summer and beyond it was soon eclipsed by domestic concerns over the budget and the re-awakening of the war in Spain as both sides emerged from winter quarters and launched their new campaigns.

--
Notes:

So Eden gets the nod despite being inexperienced at only 40 years old. As has been mentioned Nev is just too unpopular TTL to make it even as a caretaker. Conversely I really did like Duff Cooper for the job, however I just can't see a Francophile serial adulterer managing to unite the party, particularly with dislike of the French returning to historic levels. ;)

On the strike no real effect just a justification of why thing are still being built despite a nationwide strike. Eden gets credit from some for having a social conscience so I figured I'd give that a run out as he tries (unsuccessfully) to sort the strike.

Finally Spain won the vote thanks to the reliable voting of the Antipodeans so it's off to the world of Franco and H35s.
 
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Glad to see Eden get his shot. Given his lack of grip on the domestic front, I reckon Neville will have great influence there. Eden had some interesting ideas otl on industrial relations & technical education which might do a bit of good if implemented in the late 30s.
 
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You know, if I didn't know better I'd think that the RAF is breaking out the Yellow and black paint. Luckily Suez is firmly in British hands.
 
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So Eden is Prime Minister...why am I glad I am not him?

Eden seems doomed never to have much success as PM, this is a decent enough start but the reference to "the neat narrative of later events" is rather ominous.

I might be wrong, but isn't OTL Eden considered to be one of the worse Prime Minister in British history?
 
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Francophile serial adulterer. Well, at least I am half way there.
 
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So Eden gets the nod despite being inexperienced at only 40 years old. As has been mentioned Nev is just too unpopular TTL to make it even as a caretaker. Conversely I really did like Duff Cooper for the job, however I just can't see a Francophile serial adulterer managing to unite the party, particularly with dislike of the French returning to historic levels. ;)

Indeed. To be an adulterer is understable... but a Francophile? To hell with him!


:D
 
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I knew it!

...Didn't need a vote from me to bring in 'Churchill's Chosen Successor' to the frying pan- er, job of Prime Minister. ;)

Now then - what's all this about a new RAF colour scheme? Black and yellow? What, what? :eek: Is this for use in Spain by our never-to-be-mentioned Secret Hurricane Overseas Training squadrons? :rofl:

...Sorry Air Vice-Marshall, I appear to have mentioned the SHOT squadrons again! :eek: Yes, I understand, up against the wall at dawn it is...
 
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