So much sorrow from the Opposition benches about the “knifing” of Kevin Rudd. Joe Hockey seems to have taken it particularly bad, with his sombre questions in yesterday’s question time to Prime Minister Gillard, and her deputy Wayne Swan about their role in the brutality.

He even tweeted his sadness:

JoeHockey Quiet because I am still stunned at brutal KR fall. JG &WS have alot to fess up to all Aussies.

Joe and his Coalition colleagues, including Tony Abbott and Barnaby Joyce who have also expressed their sadness and dismay at Rudd’s treatment at the hands of his own Party, would be sad to read the following edited extract from Wikipedia:

He proved to be a surprisingly poor media performer and public speaker, and was portrayed by the media as a foolish and incompetent administrator. He was unlucky to come up against a new and formidable Opposition Leader.

He generated great resentment within his party, and his opponents became increasingly critical of his reliance on an inner circle of advisers.

With his Party falling further behind in the polls, a challenge was launched … he called a Party meeting to settle the matter and took it upon himself to say “Well, that is not a vote of confidence, so the party will have to elect a new leader”^.

Just don’t tell them it’s actually about former Liberal Prime Minister John Gorton, who was dumped by his own Party in 1971, mid way through his first elected term as Prime Minister.