A once-dominant political party is now in its death throes in NSW

Could it drag Federal Labor down with it?

News item: "The NSW Labor head office has drawn up a list of parliamentary seats "in crisis" indicating up to 32 MPs, including Premier Nathan Rees, are at risk of being thrown out of office at the next election following anger over the scrapping of free student travel from next year. The list, which includes Mr Rees' seat of Toongabbie, has been drawn up as part of the party's targeted seat campaign for the 2011 election, The Daily Telegraph reports. Other seats with margins of less than 15 per cent include Parramatta, Penrith, Granville, Riverstone and Mulgoa - all in Labor's western Sydney heartland."

If you believe in a true and strong democracy then you would have to agree that this can only be the case when you have an opposition that can offer a clear and alternative choice with regards to the policies that run said democracy.

What we are seeing here in New South Wales is an opposition party that is very happy to keep the media spotlight on the failing incumbent government as it continues to spiral down the polls whilst offering no real solutions to any of the problems that the state faces.

Pretty bad eh ? BUT WAIT, this is after all, politics.

What appeared to me at first as political cross dressing, when Barry O'Farrell took the opposite ideological stance to the NSW power grid sell off now seems to have been a more farsighted political strategy and not a populist take at all.

By not siding with Iemma then he has now exposed the ALP for what they are, a party not for the people but rather for the ALP and its own power. The mismanagement and corrupt behaviour of the last 13 years can now be seen for what it is truly is.

Let's not forget that this state government isn't due for a re election until March 2011 and that nothing short of a miracle that will save them this time around.

Also remembering that the Federal election is due at the end of 2010. I believe that any Labor franchise that puts its held up over the trench at an election will well and truly be dispatched by the voters of New South Wales whether federal or state -- due to what has been happening and what we now know.

Assuming this is true you would also assume that Kevin 07 might just have a chat to Premier Rees about this and force him to fall on his sword by calling an early election for the good of Federal Labor.

Barry may be silent on policy now but I believe that policy is there and waiting for the election date to be set when it will ring loud and clear in the minds of the punters as the only alternative choice and release from 13 long years of state Labor failure.