Australia

All the issues that had characterized the party in opposition -factional politicking, personal rivalries, political power plays, past political grudges and so on -were carried into government. Too often in both the Rudd and Gillard governments, they took precedence over the bigger picture

Bob Debus (Home Affairs Minister during the Rudd government and MP for Macquarie 2007-2010, previously state cabinet minister and MLA for the Blue Mountains 1981-1988, 1995-2007) is quoted in Maxine McKew's book as saying something to the effect that he was amazed at the contrast between the incoming Carr Labor government in 1995 and the nature of the first term of the Rudd-Gillard government from 2007-2010. He said (and I'm paraphrasing) that, in the Carr government, ministers were prepared to put aside their political differences and work constructively in the interests of delivering for the state whereas he found, too often, in the Rudd Labor government that the ministers and MPs involved were still too hung up on grudges nursed during their time in opposition to the extent that some of the various players in the government were not even on speaking terms

There were times when this was put aside (Rudd, Gillard, Tanner and Swan's work on the gang of four which guided the country through the GFC was one prime example of this) but it tended to be the exception rather than the rule. And of course the problem intensified under Gillard because of the internal ructions caused by the leadership spill

I think probably both sides deserve an equal amount of blame for how things unfolded in such a way that Tony Abbott is now Prime Minister. Rudd and his team of accolytes should not have undermined and white-anted Gillard during her term in office. But I think, sadly, it was the natural flow-on effect stemming from the way that Gillard and her accolytes had white-anted and undermined Rudd during his final months in office. Two wrongs certainly don't make a right but, once the genie of disloyalty is unleashed, it is very hard to put back in the bottle.. Both of them can rightfully be accused of promoting their ego and personal feelings and political ambitions above the interests of good government and the Labor Party ultimately paid the price

It's a shame because together they at one time were, and could have continued to have been, a formidable team. Each seemed to serve as a counterbalance to the other's weaknesses. Rudd was good at courting the public and was a effective communicator but was weak in policy implementation and behind the scenes, especially when it came to dealing with the party and the unions. Gillard was great behind the scenes as a negotiator and in getting legislation through and also had a strong connection with the parties and the unions but was a poor communicator and was prone to making short-term political misjudgments that backfired on her.

It's a wasted opportunity and it's allowed Abbott, whom in almost any other circumstance would be hideously unelectable to win by default -and of course with more than a little help from Uncle Rupert. Let's hope they learn from the past and don't repeat the same stupid mistakes again