By NICK BRYANT
A slightly mystifying personality cult, in which tens of thousands of devoted fans proudly don shirts emblazoned with his name and number.
The ability to make schoolgirls scream and grown men cheer wildly. The boyish grin. The wife who makes gazillions in her own right. The nagging questions over whether the talent justifies all the hype.
But that’s enough about Da­vid Beckham’s arrival in Sydney. Let’s turn instead to Kevin Rudd and his arrival in Canberra.
I’ve said before that the manner of the Labor leader’s victory in ’07 owed much to Tony Blair in ’97 – the fiscal conservatism, the muscular Christianity, the vapid sloganeering (for New Labour read New Leadership), the broad smiles, the chumminess with Rupert Murdoch, etc.
The British MP Alan Milburn, one of Blair’s great mates, was even in Australia for the latter stages of the campaign for some political coaching.
Now prime minister-elect Rudd seems to want to govern like Gordon Brown: with tight, some might argue overbearing, control, strict discipline and a rigid determination to keep his party on message.
Within hours of his victory on Saturday, smiley Kev became stern Kev. All year, he has been trying to charm the voters. Now he has decided it is time to scare the living daylights out of his own MPs.
First of all came the homework he set for them before today’s meeting of the Labor party caucus. You have to visit two schools – one public, one private – and at least one homeless shelter before descending on Canberra.
Then there was the re-affirmation of a point which he has made before: that he would chose his own ministry free from the traditional influence of the party’s factional power-brokers.
This time, though, it was delivered with much more authority, since he clearly interprets his victory as having handed him a powerful personal mandate.
Australia has what is sometimes called a “Washminster-style” of government, a hybrid of the American and the British.
Rudd has proved adept at the “Wash” bit of the equation: successfully leading a presidential-style campaign.
In fact, he showed a startling ability to stay on message throughout, which speaks of his 24/7 work ethic, self-discipline, robotic mind, and that infuriating tendency to make journalists redundant at press conferences by not only fielding the questions but asking many of himself.
Now he has to grapple with the “minster” bit, where pesky cabinet colleagues and errant MPs who do not have his work ethic, self-discipline, robotic mind, etc, could easily land his incoming government in trouble.
Surely he will find it more difficult to be a control freak prime minister than a control freak candidate.
A quick word on the Liberals, who find themselves in what one leading member has described as the worst state since Robert Menzies, Australia’s longest serving prime minister, founded the party in 1944.
Now that Labor controls every state and territory, along with the House of Representatives – a first since Federation – the party’s most senior office holder is Campbell Newman, who rejoices in the title of mayor of Brisbane.
So in the Liberal leadership contest today the party has opted for the recuperative powers of a former doctor, the outgoing defence minister, Brendan Nelson.
The former president of the Australian Medical Association has a penchant for electric guitars, powerful motorbikes and used to wear an earring.
Sadly, his public persona is not anywhere near as racy. In the Canberra press gallery, his nickname is Rain Man for his ability to rattle off reams and reams of statistics. –BBC