You'll never guess who is to blame for the fine mess the Australian Labor Party is in

Not Kevin Rudd. SMH "polling analyst" Andrew Catsaras on May 8:

TO suggest that Kevin Rudd is now a liability and that his behaviour is damaging the Labor brand is incorrect. In political and branding terms the ALP owes Rudd a lot. In branding terms, it was the public's perceptions of Rudd that helped make the ALP truly competitive against the Coalition. Voter perceptions of Rudd were crucial to this positioning; his mild-mannered approach made him look much more like a traditional Liberal Party leader than a Labor one. Since the election Rudd and the ALP have continued to reinforce these more conservative perceptions, and this positioning for the middle ground goes a long way to explaining their historically strong polling. When we compare Newspoll's long-term average results with the most recent results from this year we find that the ALP has improved its position on the handling of issues such as education, health and the economy and has leads on six of the seven polled issues. There is no evidence to suggest that Rudd is damaging the Labor brand. On the contrary, he is a brand builder.

Michael Costa? Phil Coorey in the SMH yesterday:

THE navel-gazing and sackcloth-and-ashes routine within Labor shows little sign of abating as MPs, ministers and former party figures of repute, be it ill or otherwise, hang a lantern over the party's problems and hamper its attempts to consolidate and build momentum. Michael Costa, a leading figure in the NSW outfit that arguably did more to harm the Labor brand than any other in recent decades, was at it again last week.

Tony Abbott! Barrie Cassidy interviews Abbott on ABC1's Insiders on Sunday:

CASSIDY: What do you think was your greatest achievement during 2010?

Abbott:I just want to say that I'm pleased to continue to have that chance to lead the party.

Cassidy: And you brought down Kevin Rudd, you've taken credit for that. You have said about Rudd he was the most unfairly treated man in Australian political history. You're the one who brought him down.

Abbott: Well, it wasn't just me but the fact -- I did my job, Barrie, which is to hold the government of the day to account. The people who didn't do their job . . .

Cassidy: But there's a contradiction there. You say you did your job in bringing down somebody who was the most unfairly treated person in Australian political history.

Abbott: I think there's no doubt that he was very unfairly treated by many of his colleagues.

Cassidy: And by you, by implication.

Abbott: I did my job, the question is did the Labor Party do its job? Did they give their then prime minister the support that he deserved under pressure?

Cassidy identifies a few other insignificant characters in his book The Party Thieves:

THE next day, Wednesday, June 23, which was to become one of the most memorable days in Canberra's political history, dawned with a surreal atmosphere. Arbib returned to his office to hear from senator David Feeney that [Julia] Gillard was furious about a story that had run in The Sydney Morning Herald. Because it was written by Peter Hartcher, the journalist closest to Rudd, Arbib had no doubt about the source. Arbib and Feeney went to see Gillard soon after 9am. They found her controlled but angry. To that point she had not given anyone encouragement to undermine the leader. Gillard then walked around to the prime minister's office for a meeting hastily arranged by senator John Faulkner. It didn't go well. Rudd was apparently encouraged because there had been no talk of a direct challenge. But then the lobbying began in earnest. Gillard canvassed numbers with senator Kim Carr. Then her office phoned [Bill] Shorten and invited him around. The minister for agriculture, Tony Burke, urged Gillard to run. She then spoke to former leader Simon Crean for both a reading of the numbers and emotional support. All that remained was the showdown.

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