Crean finally cracks the Rehame top 40

Simon Crean is bouncing around in the political charts but after a rough trot has finally cracked the Rehame top 40.

Labor is back on the radar in this week’s political charts. Mark Latham is bubbling under at number two and has been joined this week in the Top 10 by none other than the Bomber himself, Kim Beazley.

Stephen Conroy just misses out, coming in at number 11 and Peter Cook is just behind in twelfth spot. Labor must be coming back into fashion.

What’s more, there’s movement on the economic front. Finance spokesman Bob McMullan is in there at number 15, while Shadow Treasurer Simon Crean scrapes in at 32.

You’d think the Shadow Treasurer might rate more mentions than the Shadow Finance Minister, but let’s not be churlish. After all, it’s quite an achievement to make the charts without any material.

Crikey readers are an educated lot, and will know of the John Cage piece that is nothing but silence. Labor’s economic policies aren’t quite like that. Instead, they’re rather like Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music – nothing but white noise. Interesting, but it doesn’t sell.

What will happen to the chart when Labor offers something that’s had the full Stock, Aitken and Waterman production treatment? We know what that did for Kylie’s career. Will it let Latham knock John Howard off the number one spot?

Who’s hot, who’s not: The Rehame Top 40 Pols

Crean misses the top 40

First published July 29

Labor’s economic credentials seem to be going down as well around the country with pop-pickers as the follow up to The Hard LineAccording to Terence Trent D’Arby (not even a trivia buff like yours truly can remember its full name).

A couple of quick grabs on inflation weren’t enough to get Australia’s alternative treasurer, Simon Crean, listed on Rehame’s chart of Top 40 mentioned federal politicians this week.

That’s two weeks running – not a good look when economic management is supposed to be the Government’s greatest strength.

Crean is a joke – and it’s about time Latham did a Beazley on him and gave the job to someone with at least some economic cred like Bob McMullan. Except he didn’t make the charts this week, either. Whoops!

Where was Crean on the unemployment figures this week? Or on interest rates? Or on anything that hip-pocket punters are vaguely interested in? OK, so wheeling out Wayne Swan to talk about Centrelink payments has got Labor into the charts, it still doesn’t solve their economic management credentials problems.

Look at their starring name – Kate Lundy, who came rocketing into the charts from 77 last week to 12 this week to third behind Latham and Rudd in Labor’s top mentions. She owes her listing to her pre-empting of the Senate Report on the Free Trade Agreement – shooting Labor’s only half-credible economic line to bits, in other words.

Still, while Senator Lundy doesn’t know much about economics, she at least has political street smarts.

Lundy will be up for election when the federal election is finally called, as the four Territory Senators go to the polls at the same time with the Reps.

The ACT Senate race will be an interesting one, thanks to the presence of high profile Green MLA Kerry Tucker.

Territory Assembly elections are coming up too, and no one gives the Libs much chance there. Poor ACT Liberal Senator Gary Humphries, who only got the job last March, could well be squeezed out. The ACT could end up being represented by a Green/Labor Senate pair. Lundy seems determined to make sure that she isn’t outmanoeuvred on her left flank with her loud anti-FTA views, and they should go down a treat with Canberrans.

Lundy’s economic views mightn’t be all that intelligent, but at least she has them – and can get them out to the punters.

It’s a shame Labor’s supposed experts don’t or can’t – or both.

In fact, it’s worrying this close to an election.

Who’s hot, who’s not: This week’s Rehame Top 40 Pols

1. John Howard
2. Mark Latham
3. Alexander Downer
4. Peter Costello
5. Kevin Rudd
6. John Anderson
7. Tony Abbott
8. Philip Ruddock
9. Warren Truss
10. Bob Brown
11. Kay Patterson
12. Kate Lundy
13. Larry Anthony
14. Ian Campbell
15. Wayne Swan
16. Brendan Nelson
17. Mark Vaile
18. Robert Hill
19. Kim Beazley
20. Amanda Vanstone
21. Chris Ellison
22. Andrew Bartlett
23. Barry Haase
24. Gavan O’Connor
25. Stephen Conroy
26. Julie Bishop
27. Jenny Macklin
28. Sharman Stone
29. Rod Kemp
30. Joel Fitzgibbon
31. Joseph Hockey
32. Peter Andren
33. Malcolm Turnbull
34. David Hawker / Helen Coonan
35. Bob Baldwin
36. Nicola Roxon
37. Sussan Ley
38. John Cherry
39. Gary Nairn
40. Peter King

Christian Kerr can be contacted at christian@crikey.com.au