I have been watching The X Factor on Chanel 7, and last night I also watched the media coverage telling us of our change of PM. The question arises; does Malcolm Turnbull have the x factor? In talent quests and politics, there can only be one winner, even in a competition of champions.
The winners of the various talent shows have their moment of fame, a few go on to greater success, but many are forgotten when a new winner takes the crown the following year. Sometimes the runner-up goes on to eclipse the winner.
Apart from hard work and right choices, I guess it all comes down to whether the fans decide to 'own' that performer,
And that made me wonder about the way we think about our leaders. In Australia, we used to sing God save our Gracious Queen, the pronoun 'our' suggests ownership.
I met an American woman at a language class some years ago. In a conversation about something that was happening in the USA, she talked about "my President" She was not praising him, she was concerned about his decisions. But she was owning him.
I don't think I have ever thought of the PM as "my Prime Minister" or the government as my Government nor have I heard anyone else claim that ownership.
But I wonder what would change if we did think that way. If opposition was exchanged for co-operation some of the time at least, if we pooled the best of both sides once the contest was over?
Does Malcolm have the X- Factor? His success, I guess, will come down to hard work, right choices and whether he becomes a performer the we choose to own. What do you think?
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