Principled politics

I'm surprised this book doesn't have more reviews. I found this an excellent listen, for its insights both into Gillard's political career (and tough battles) and her as a person. Generally speaking, I have the perception that Aussie politics in the last 10 or so years has been dominated by political infighting (not helped by the awful media presence), with petty personal battles taking priority over meaningful progress for the country. Gillard rises above this noise, with strong values driving what sounds like an organised and purposeful agenda, and making substantial progress in her short time in spite of the partisan circumstances (not to mention internal party factions and the disgustingly misogynistic and unnecessarily antagonistic media).

I appreciated the candor of the book and Gillard's willingness to admit fault, as well as what seemed like a fair assessment of those around her - harsh when necessary (Rudd sounds like a pretty terrible leader / coworker), but equally willing to give credit even to her direct opponents where it's due. Of course, this comes with the general disclaimer of a policital memoir and its inevitable bias, but to me it didn't seem egregious.

In general, coming out of this I have a huge amount of respect for Gillard, and would recommend this book to anyone who wants to dig into recent Aussie politics, as well as Malcom Turnbull's (different angle - but also eminently readable and from someone trying to do more than just dunk on other politicians in factional times).

Thank you, Julia, for doing Australia (and women worldwide) proud and making meaningful progress despite the tough hand you were dealt.

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