Update! Julia the Red

by Clifford F. Thies

In Australia, the ruling Labour government may fall because a member of Parliament used a union credit card to pay for prostitutes. Prostitution itself is not illegal in the country, but misappropriating union funds is illegal and would disqualify him from Parliament. Were it proven that this member, currently under investigation, were guilty, there would be a special election to replace him, with the opposition enjoying a considerable lead in the polls. Assuming, next, the the opposition were to win the special election, the government could be taken down on a money bill, forcing a snap election in which the opposition party would be likely to win a landslide victory. There is also the possibility that one of the two independents that backed Labour in return for certain consideration that benefited their constituencies, would immediately support the opposition in a no-confidence vote, without waiting for a money bill, or even without waiting for the special election, in the event of a resignation or a disqualification.

The Australian Labour Party effectively acknowledges the desperate shape they are in, first, by funding the Member's legal bills, so he would have effective representation without being forced into bankruptcy (which would also disqualify from Parliament). The Prime Minister, Julia "the Red" Gillard has "resisted" the increasingly loud chorus calling for a resignation and has, instead, said that he must be presumed innocent and the process of investigation must be followed. In a stunning blow to the government, the union which this man is supposed to have defrauded has decided to cooperate with the police rather than have their members "take one" for the government.

The man's story - which is that the credit card was stolen by another - has been massively contradicted. It appears that he is obviously lying and that his convection is just a matter of time. How much time, is what Julia and her Green-Red coalition are focused on.