Misogyny doesn't account for Julia Gillard’s missteps as PM

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'Gillard’s [link added] period is unique because it involves gender. Her assertion of this is confronting: “Even if you are the single most powerful person in your country, if you are a woman, the images that are shadowed around you are of sex and rape.” This is Gillard’s perspective of Australia from high office. In the end Gillard’s proposition is that she faced more abuse than other prime ministers because she was the first woman. It sounds initially plausible yet it is nonsense. Gillard undoubtedly was subjected to sustained and grossly offensive sexist and misogy­nist attacks for which there is no excuse and no equivalent experience for a man.

The reality, however, is that the overwhelming majority of day-to-day criticism of Gillard arose from her policies and political actions, not because of her gender. They included her removal of Rudd, her carbon tax broken promise and the deals she did — some sleazy — to sustain her minority government. Gillard’s experience leads her to the accusation of sexism and misogyny in Australia’s culture and its power structures. She is explicit: the problem was not just in society’s margins. It came from the mainstream: the opposition, business and media. By laying this considered accusation, Gillard’s gender story becomes inextricably woven into her political story. The two parallel narratives run together and intersect.
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It is about her failures as prime minister that Gillard either stays silent or offers unsatisfactory accounts. On too many pivotal issues she excuses herself with a blend of sophistry, dissembling and silence. The flaw in Gillard’s memoir is her inability to recognise she is the architect of her own problems. There is a delusional theme in this book. She casts the net wide when attributing blame: to Rudd, to Abbott [links added], to the media and to sexists and misogynists. This is part true yet even greater part fantasy.

It will appeal to many readers, presumably women readers. Yet at its heart lies the real tragedy of Julia Gillard — she was brought undone by a series of decisions for which she alone is responsible. These decisions testify to her personal failure and the weakness of Labor as a political institution.
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The second defining event for Gillard — and the pivotal move in her career — was her successful strike against Rudd on the night of June 23, 2010. It is now best seen as high tragedy. This is the misjudgment that defined her character.

In an act of abrupt ruthlessness, legitimised by the caucus yet catching the Australian public by surprise, Gillard deposed Rudd and seized the office of prime minister. Gillard’s memoir is strong on her policy activity as prime minister but weak on how she got the job. This omission, ultimately, does not serve Gillard’s case. A full disclosure would have been better.
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She correctly identifies the malaise: Rudd was inept as a manager of his government. It is the defect that leads to ruin and the flaw that proves popularity alone cannot suffice.
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In her final press conference as prime minister, Gillard said gender “doesn’t explain everything” about her prime ministership but “it explains some things”. Yet her book fails to elaborate adequately on those things. In the end, Gillard played the misogyny card not just because she felt ignoring such attacks didn’t work, but because her prime ministership was in trouble.

We will never know, but the idea of a successful female prime minister resorting to this attack is surely fanciful. Gillard decided to define herself, in part, by accusing Abbott of misogyny. There should have been a better way for the first female prime minister to carry her banner.'