It can’t be only nine months since the last federal election. It feels like an eternity. That, of course, is the objective of Tony Abbott who has worked 24/7 to argue that the election result, the formation of the minority Gillard Government, and in turn, any legislation it proposes, is illegitimate and undemocratic. But this week Tony Abbott over-reached when he tried to conflate populism and democracy by proposing a plebiscite on the proposed carbon price. On the one hand the Opposition Leader said that the public must be asked, but at the same time he said that as prime minister he would still roll back any carbon price. Oh dear.