Kevin Rudd's failed UN Secretary General bid

The opposition Labor Party was always going to assume that Rudd was suitable, a curious state of affairs given the fact that various members were thrilled at knifing their leader when he was prime minister.

Evidently, being UN Secretary General was far more appropriate than leading the country. In the words of acting opposition leader, Tanya Plibersek, "There is no question that it is in our national interest to have an Australian in this vital role."

The Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, had one corner to hide in: the suitability of Rudd for the role. "When the Australian Government nominates a person for a job, particularly an international job like this, the threshold question is, 'do we believe the person, the nominee, the would-be-nominee is well suited for that position?'"

After denying that the issue had been factional, that the party room had been deeply unsettled by the debate as to whether Rudd's name should be put forth, the great red herring of objectivity was trotted out. Rudd was simply not suitable.

That he wasn't suitable for a range of reasons is hard to contest, be it temperament, timing, and the rank fact that having an Australian in such a post would be problematic for various powers. Russia and China, for starters, would be suspicious about having such a pro-Washington voice at the helm of the international body.

Turnbull kept mum on that subject, leaving Rudd up the creek with no paddle in sight. Only Senator Bernardi gave us a sense about what had happened with a congratulatory note for the prime minister: "Our participation in international institutions is more important than an individual's ambition." The conservative wing of the party had triumphed.