Meet the ALP's 3 Alt-Amigos

Tired of Labor's 3 Amigos (Hawke, Rudd & Evans), as that prince of pundits Greg Sheridan refers to them? How about Labor's 3 Alt-Amigos then?

Read on:

There's Kimmie, a Middle East specialist who could have pulled off a peace deal between Palestine and Israel long ago if only Bill Clinton hadn't hogged the stage:

"Former Labor leader Kim Beazley has waded into the growing rift within Labor over formal recognition of Palestine, saying Palestinian leaders have become 'very comfortable' applying moral pressure on Israel but have not undertaken the hard yards necessary to reach a lasting peace... Mr Beazley said the focus on Israel and Mr Netanyahu, who he described as a 'difficult messenger' for social democrats to bear, had effectively given the Palestinians a free pass on hard questions such as the issue of Palestinian returns [?] and the status of East Jerusalem." (Palestinians must do the hard yards: Beazley, Paul Maley, The Australian, 24/2/17)

And Kimmie knows all about the hard yards. That slog in Washington as Australia's ambassador was hell. Hell! So bad, in fact, it drove the poor man to drink: "Former Labor leader Kim Beazley charged taxpayers $3, 420 for 12 bottles of Penfolds Grange during his time as ambassador to the US in 2014, an expenditure list shows." (Kim Beazley charged taxpayers thousands of dollars for bottles of Penfolds Grange while US ambassador, Uma Patel, ABC News, 29/9/16)

There's Mr Bean. For sheer depth of knowledge of the Palestine problem, he's in a class of his own, as these perceptive comments show:

"A Right faction powerbroker, Senator Dastyari, who does not support immediate recognition of a Palestinian state as advocated by Bob Hawke, Mr Evans and Mr Carr, said the party should not ignore other humanitarian challenges abroad. In recent years, there have been atrocities in Syria, Libya, Iraq and throughout the Middle East... I have always been a strong supporter of a two-state solution and of Australia playing a role to help facilitate that (but) the Labor Party can't afford to focus on the Palestinian question at the expense of the other humanitarian challenges.' The Iranian-born senator said he supported the party reviewing its policy but made it clear recent interventions in support of Palestine by Mr Hawke, Mr Evans and Mr Carr were unhelpful prior to Mr Netanyahu's visit." (Sam Dastyari berates Labor Party push to endorse Palestinian state, Troy Bramston, The Australian, 20/2/17)

Finally, there's the legendary Richo, who, as an ALP factional warrior, brings his unique experience of Ultimate Cage Fighting (UCF), ALP-style, to say nothing of his wealth of expertise and profound insight on the subject of Palestine/Israel, to bear on that fraught matter:

"An emboldened Netanyahu has since expanded his plans to settle more Israelis in the West Bank. The new settlements are at the heart of why those Labor elders like Bob Hawke and Bob Carr, Gareth Evans and Kevin Rudd are walking away from Israel and seek succour and comfort in the tender arms of the PLO and Hamas. Frankly I don't see much comfort there and I can't go along with recognising the Palestinian state unless and until Hamas resiles from its commitment to boot every Jew out of Israel... Ever since I was born there have been troubles in Israel and that will continue till I am gone and beyond." (Netanyahu not a man given to compromise, Graham Richardson, The Australian, 24/2/17)

No doubt about it, Labor's got talent.