Tony Abbott sworn in as Australian PM amid row over male-dominated cabinet

[pampango]

Source: UK Guardian

Australia's newly elected conservative prime minister, Tony Abbott, has been officially sworn in amid criticism over the lack of women in his cabinet.

Just one of his 19-strong frontbench is a woman, Julie Bishop, the minister for foreign affairs. There is no cabinet portfolio for women. Instead, responsibility for women's issues will be held by Abbott in the prime minister's office.

Australia now ranks behind Afghanistan (three women in cabinet), China (two) and Zimbabwe (five) according to a graphic published by Labor. Britain has four female members of cabinet.

During his three years as opposition leader, Abbott repeatedly polled worse with women than with men. He was famously the target of the former prime minister Julia Gillard's sexism and misogyny speech to parliament last year, when she told him if he wanted to know what misogyny in modern Australia looked like, he should get a mirror.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/18/tony-abbott-australian-pm-cabinet

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Nice job, Mr. Abbott. Who would have thought you could pick fewer women for your cabinet than in Afghanistan. Typical conservative.

[blkmusclmachine]

1. Bye, Australia.

[Ken Burch]

2. The other question is, will the Australian Labor Party start BEING a labor party again?

They've been locked into proto-Blairism for decades now, and their showing in the last election proves that proto-Blairism doesn't work anymore.

It would be nice if Australians had an actual opposition party to vote for at the next general election.

[Ash_F]

3. Sorry about the slide to the right, fellow Aussie DUers

[roamer65]

4. Get ready Australia.

You are about to experience the worst PM in your nation's history.

You will be kicking him out of office in 2016. Mark my words.