Michael Gordon
Michael Gordon is the political editor of The Age.
Hard slog for PM to get Labor back into the game
Michael Gordon It is a measure of Labor's predicament that the good news for the government in the latest Age/Nielsen poll is that Julia Gillard's - and the party's - standing did not take another hit after yet...
They look like Keystone Cops and the real test is still to come
Michael Gordon Julia Gillard has triumphed in her third party-room showdown with Kevin Rudd, but Tony Abbott is the biggest - the only - winner from one of the most bizarre days in Australia's political history.
A clean start for the PM, but is the election already lost?
Michael Gordon Simon Crean has removed the threat of Kevin Rudd and gave Julia Gillard's prime ministership a fresh start.
Hard road ahead for heavily burdened ministers
Michael Gordon Rather than call in the Rudd backers in cabinet one by one, Gillard put the onus on them.
Michael Gordon
Worlds apart, but the pain's the same when the axe falls
Michael Gordon Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott agree on something. There are no parallels between the political assassination of Kevin Rudd in 2010 and Ted Baillieu's decision to fall on his sword this week.
Michael Gordon
Rudd's long cold shower heats up as leadership stress grows
Michael Gordon What's Kevin up to? It's the perennial question for those Labor MPs who voted for Julia Gillard in last year's leadership ballot, and for her advisers, but now it's being asked by some of Rudd's own...
Michael Gordon
ALP's poor performance gives Abbott a dream start
Michael Gordon A combination of bad management, poor communications, ill-discipline and poor timing by Labor have handed Tony Abbott a dream start to this election year.
Michael Gordon
The remaking of Tony Abbott: a seven-month Liberal project
Michael Gordon Tony Abbott gave voters a glimpse of a very different prime ministership when he stepped up to the podium at the National Press Club.
Michael Gordon
Can this sporting nation restore its sense of self?
Michael Gordon Two very different snapshots of the country's progress were delivered during an otherwise underwhelming opening week in the Federal Parliament.
Michael Gordon
PM's right to punt on Peris
Michael Gordon Julia Gillard's coup in securing one of Australia's most successful indigenous athletes as a Senate candidate invites predictable criticisms and involves some risk, but is justified by the two words...
Michael Gordon
Time for a new script after a year of tears and smears
Michael Gordon As morality tales go, they don't get much better, or shabbier, than the saga of how Peter Slipper came to, and was removed from, the most prestigious office in the national Parliament.
Michael Gordon
Dirty politics stains the PM, Abbott and all of us
Michael Gordon The Coalition will pay a price for playing politics this way.
Michael Gordon
The real lesson to be learnt from Labor's history wars
Michael Gordon Maxine McKew's blistering critique of Julia Gillard in her new book, Tales from the Political Trenches, invites three questions: Why did she feel compelled to write it? Is it accurate? And, most...
Michael Gordon
Tanner orchestrates his own Labor sideshow
Michael Gordon Lindsay Tanner's last book on politics explored the relationship between politicians and the media. It began with the observation that most journalists would scan the book, looking for shock...
Michael Gordon
Is this the beginning of a Gillard revival?
Michael Gordon Julia Gillard isn't big on admitting to personal failings. Truth is, she is at her best when her back's against the wall and she's conceding absolutely nothing.
Michael Gordon
Poll shows Gillard on slow road back
Michael Gordon Modern improvement should harden resolve of MPs who believe decision should come later, not sooner.
Gillard's still in the basement
Michael Gordon The bad news for PM is that this is the fourth poll with a net approval rating of minus 24.
Michael Gordon
Let Games begin, for relief from the political hurdles
Michael Gordon Rewind four years. Popular Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd addresses a reception for the national team.
Michael Gordon
Numbers buy Gillard momentary breathing space
Michael Gordon Don't panic yet. That is the message of today's Age/Nielsen poll to Labor MPs grappling with the decision of if - and when - to switch leaders (again).
Michael Gordon
Happy ending about as likely as a Rudd triumph
Michael Gordon Kevin Rudd has signalled he will be gracious in defeat, but unity is a long way off.
