Thursday, October 16, 2008

Mr. Me-Too, he isn't

When Kevin Rudd was running against John Howard in the election, John Howard tried to shake Kevin off by accusing him of "Me-Too-ism". During this financial crisis, Kevin Rudd has shown convincingly that he is no copy-cat. In fact he has initiated more swift and decisive actions than any other leaders in tackling the crisis. First was the $10.4bil economic stimulus package which was heartily embraced even by the opposition party. Today he announced that billions of dollars in superannuation funds would be used for nation building. This is the classical fiscal weapon used to reverse a slowing economy. Thirdly, Kevin announced that he will be meeting business leaders to get a feedback on what else could be done to stimulate the economy.

Take note that Kevin Rudd did not start by asking everybody what he must do. That would be the sign of a leader who acts by getting input first - not necessary a bad thing to do - but inappropriate at this time. Kevin demonstrated decisively and swiftly, as what is needed in this crisis, yet without a hint of self interest and party protection.

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