Gillard, PM for the Second Time

Julia Gillard was sworn in as Australia’s prime minister on Tuesday, September 14 – capping weeks of drama after she deposed ex-leader Kevin Rudd in a party revolt and called elections that produced the first hung parliament in decades. Gillard controls just 76 seats in the 150-member House of Representatives, and so, this is going to be a delicate balancing act for her as she governs a fragile coalition that few believe can survive in the long-term.

As political commentator Peter van Onselen said “I think it’s going to be inherently unstable.” (Star, September 15, 2010, p W37). What he meant is that Gillard will have to manage this minority government on an issue-to-issue and day-to-day basis because just one single defection or even absence can precariously result in a stalemate. And already, one day after the swearing-in, opposition leader Tony Abbott has indicated his ambition to bring down Gillard's vulnerable minority. It’s going to be a rollercoaster ride for Gillard, that’s for sure.

In the Champions League game on Wednesday, Arsenal was in devastating form when they hit six past Braga without reply. Cesc Fabregas opened with an early penalty (9) before the Gunners raced to a 3-0 half-time lead thanks to Andrey Arshavin's drive (30) and a wonderful goal capped off by the impressive Marouane Chamakh (34). Arsenal scored their fourth goal when an unmarked Fabregas headed in Arshavin's cross from the left (53). and the fifth and sixth goals came from Carlos Vela (69, 84) to seal the Portuguese side’s misery.

"We want to maintain a high quality in every game we play and we think we can do better”, Arsenal’s manager Arsene Wenger had said. "We believe when we play like that it will be very hard to stop us” As long as the Gunners can maintain consistency, Wenger may be proven right. But it’s still early days…