Supping with the long spoon

It's oft times said that if you sup with the devil then you need a long spoon.
While Mr Abbott is clearly not the devil, Ms Gillard would do well to remember that in offering to cooperate with the Government he is serving no one's purposes other than his own.
I am sure they are well aware of this.
Mr Abbott would also do well to remember that in agreeing to cooperate the Government is also not serving his purpose.
Who will win this stand off remains to be seen. 
Clearly it will not be the majority of the electorate who apparently don't agree with Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott that refugees should be processed offshore but would prefer that we do the right, perhaps one should say, the Australian thing and process people on the mainland.