that's a bit harsh isn't it?

After all, the economy is simply a tool for adding to human happiness. If you see these poorly performing economies and look at the human misery in them, why would you swap a well performing economy for theirs? This misses the point. No-one goes in to politics to run the country into the ground. Every politician thinks he has the best interests of the country at heart and that he alone has the solution. But when a politician lies about the GST, exploits the fears of Australians about the Tampa, dissembles over core and non-core promises, dissembles over the understanding of the word "trust", hides one's own mismanagement of interest rates and size of the budget defecit, does not stand up for one of our own citizens being held prisoner in a foreign country, claims religiosity and love of sport for the sake of image - then there is a problem.
As a voter I do not like being treated as a mug - not for the sake of giving power to one bloke, a bloke who is only an image of what I expect a bloke to be. There but for the grace of God any one could be a David Hicks and I would expect the Prime Minister to assist no matter how stupid I might have been. God gives second chances on account of Jesus. Why doesn't this PM who claims to be so holy?