Rudd calls on people power

Kevin Rudd may have been a lousy leader—indecisive, workaholic, a control freak and foul to his colleagues—but our self-styled Messiah is a brilliant campaigner.

This morning's speech at Brisbane Airport calling for Australians to get onto their MPs and insist he be reinstated as leader was a masterpiece. 

"Your power as the people is what will count in the days ahead," Rudd told the waiting media pack.

"Pick up your telephone, speak to your local members of parliament, tell them what you think, jump into the media, tell them what you think, because this is your country, it doesn't belong to the factions of the Labor party."

Rudd knows he hasn't got the support in caucus so he's appealing direct to the people and calling up a flash mob in his favour. Next step will be to get them to march on the Lodge or Parliament House and demand that Gillard step down.

And just remember folks, you saw that here first.

After all, it's what People Power did for Corey Aquino when she got shot of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos in 1986. 

And 197 years before that, it was the people who stormed the Bastille and brought down Louis XVI. So these are tried and tested methods.

Meanwhile, Rudd is bringing it all into the 21st Century by tweeting madly to his 1,070,028 followers that "It's not old-fashioned to believe democracy really matters". That's a reference to people power again, as opposed to the narrow caucus vote that will decide Rudd's fate.

It really is shaping up to be a fascinating battle, because all the forces of modern internet-based campaigning, GetUp-style, have suddenly been unleashed on the poor old ALP.

That, of course, is just what the party desperately needs, with its shrinking, ageing, membership, outdated links to the unions, powerful factional bosses and antiquated ways.

If Rudd wins this contest it will be remarkable. But even if he doesn't, we suspect he'll be even more of a public hero than he was before.

And Gillard—who in Rudd's eyes will have denied the people true democracy—will be even more of a villain.