Fed: Mates maybe, but Hockey-Rudd rivalry deepens

AAP General News (Australia)
04-18-2007
Fed: Mates maybe, but Hockey-Rudd rivalry deepens

MELBOURNE, April 18 AAP - They say they're old mates, but politics is putting a growing
strain on the friendship between federal minister Joe Hockey and Labor leader Kevin Rudd.

Mr Hockey, the workplace relations minister, says Mr Rudd lacks the qualities to lead
the country.

"I don't want Kevin Rudd to be prime minister of Australia," Mr Hockey declared in
Melbourne today, as he accepted a jumper from AFL club Richmond for his son Xavier.

"I say that emphatically with absolute conviction," he said.

"I don't think his policies are well thought through.

"And certainly he is not experienced. I think Australians will discover that over the
next few months."

Mr Hockey said Mr Rudd's policies so far were "clumsy."

"He has no experience in running anything that is of matter and substance to the Australian
people.

"He's trying to placate everyone. He's trying to be all things to all interest groups
at the moment."

Mr Hockey and Mr Rudd built their friendship through five years of weekly appearances
of the Seven Network's Sunrise program, and they walked the Kokoda Track together.

Both pulled out of the long-running spot this week following controversy over Sunrise's
plans for a "fake" Anzac Day dawn service, and after Mr Hockey was criticised by colleagues
for initially supporting Mr Rudd over the issue.

Announcing he was pulling out of Sunrise, Mr Rudd said this week that politics was
making it too hard to appear on Sunrise with his "longstanding mate".

Today, Mr Hockey would not comment on whether he still thought Mr Rudd was a good bloke.

"I'm not going down the path of whether he is a good bloke or not," he said.

"He wants to be prime minister and I want to stop him."

AAP sam/gfr/sp/bwl

KEYWORD: RUDD HOCKEY

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