Beattie said Rudd was terrible. So why help him stay Prime Minister? Peter Beattie once said Kevin Rudd was bad for Labor and bad for the country: The Weekend Australian, June 26, 2010: PETER Beattie: But like the overwhelming majority of caucus, I knew there was a fatal political flaw. It was poor political judgment on key issues. For me, Rudd's lack of political judgment was demonstrated in the introduction of the mining tax without proper consultation, the backflip on timing of the emissions trading scheme and the bungled home insulation program. His failure to listen to a broad range of advice, particularly on issues in which he had little expertise, also demonstrated poor judgment... The Weekend Australian, July 31, 2010: BEATTIE: At the moment, the party faithful know they are being betrayed ... There can also be no greater act of treachery ... . Media reports are now suggesting Rudd himself is possibly the source of the leak... Paul Howes, Confessions of a Faceless Man, page 20: (PETER Beattie) told me plainly that "that bloke stuffed up the Goss government, stuffed up his own government and during the election did his best to stuff up Julia's government. No one should ever forget the damage that he has done. But Beattie now wants to help this same man be Prime Minister of the country for another three years. Power above principle: WE have had our differences but it takes a bit of strength and a bit of guts from the Prime Minister to rise above that and say "what's good for the campaign, what's good for Queensland." I agree Peter Beattie improves Labor's chances in Forde, but I suspect Fairfax's Mark Kenny assumes too much: Beattie will now secure the seat of Forde for Labor, held by the LNP's Bert van Manen, on a margin of 1.6 per cent... But perhaps most telling is that it reveals Beattie's own assessment of Rudd's chances. A nine-year premier, with an unrivalled sense of the electoral mood, Beattie is not in this to wind up on the left side of the Speaker in Canberra. After week one, I'd put Labor's chances of winning the election much lower than I did at the start, and Beattie is no shoo-in. There is now a real chance that Labor's campaign could go off the rails. Much depends on Sunday's debate, but I doubt it will prove decisive - unless Rudd crashes.