Political insurgency in Higgins

At first glance it is puzzling that the Higgins by-election on 5 December does not have a Labor candidate given that Peter Costello won only 57 per cent of the two part preferred vote at the last election and that this must have included a personal component. Moreover, the odd polling glitch aside Labor continues to be well ahead on a two party preferred basis and the Liberals decided to choose a candidate with limited political experience and leadership potential (rumour has it that one obvious possibility was advised not to stand as Costello had made his choice).Kevin Rudd must thus surely have been confident of considerably reducing the Liberal’s winning margin and his failure to stand a candidate raises a question of what was in his mind.

Such a question will doubtless produce a variety of responses and it is not easy to sort out spin from substance. But in a situation in which Turnbull appears unwilling or unable to produce policies that provide substantive alternatives, and…