Does this look like the face of a caring, compassionate man? It is! He is the leader of the Australian Labor Party in the Australian Federal parliament and he appears to have recognised the crisis facing Australian males. In a recent press club speech he said

Our boys are suffering from a crisis of masculinity. . . We need to give our boys a new centre to their lives, one grounded in community support and mentoring

Although the welfare of men is typically a taboo subject in politics, this is perhaps not as surprising as it may at first seem. Mr Latham has been forced to confront and conquer the demons with respect to his own masculinity. Some years ago he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and had to have one testicle removed as part of the treatment.

Compare this with John Howard who, as far as can be determined from media reports, is as caught up in the negative and destructive masculine culture as most Australian males. His apparent addition to power has caused him, like most parliamentarians, to abandon any real effort in being a father to his children. He is now so addicted to the power that any chance of him gracefully handing over to his successors has evaporated long ago.

There are of course many issues to consider when choosing which party to vote for in the forth coming election but the mature and balanced self image that Mr Latham clearly possesses must speak in his favour. Compare this with the immature behaviour of the senior Liberal minister Tony Abbott who felt it was appropriate to use parliamentary privelege to accuse Mr Latham of being less of a man because he now only possessed one testicle.