How far will his powers of persuasion take him now?
Brendan Nelson has several nicknames. One of them is Forrest Gump. Another is Rainman, because of his ability to spout endless statistics at the drop of a hat, like the autistic savant in the movie of the same name. A third is Braveheart, which would seem complimentary if it were not delivered with a sneer. Even Treasurer Peter Costello has been seen sniggering at some of Nelson’s speeches. But now the mockers have been put in their place. Nelson, the Minister for Education, Science and Training, has pulled off what everyone had thought impossible: negotiating the most dramatic changes to higher education in a decade through the Senate, including the partial deregulation of fees. Only weeks before, senior commentators had been predicting the new legislation would fail in the Senate and become one of the most significant defeats since the Howard Government took office. Now Nelson, 45, is being spoken of as a potential rival to Tony Abbott for a deputy leadership position under Costello;
