The Sniping and Undermining Tour 2017 continues in Sydney tonight, with former prime minister Tony Abbott on hand to launch a collection of articles from everybody’s favourite right-wing columnists called Making Australia Right. It includes articles from Judith Sloan on the economy, Brendan O’Neill on “political correctness”, Gary Johns on inequality, Jim Molan on defence and Roger Franklin on the Liberal Party.
Abbott knows whatever he says at this event is likely to be widely reported as a criticism on the Turnbull government and a push to further destabilise a leader whose constant kowtowing is still not enough for the far right of his party.
Cheerleader-in-chief Andrew Bolt was already foreshadowing the event on his Sky News show last night, asking fellow panelist Rita Panahi if it was, indeed, on. Of late, News Corp’s most high-profile columnist can’t seem to make his mind up whether he wants Abbott to return or whether he should put his energy behind the Trumpian-tanned Peter Dutton. Abbott will also, helpfully, be appearing on Bolt’s show tonight after the book launch.
Wasn’t this slender volume originally published 1 December? Sounds like an excuse to make trouble to me. Not that it will do too much damage. How much damage can you do to a PM whose government is a train wreck anyway?
Then there’s his impotence. Is Abbott taken seriously by anyone outside his fan club of Bolt and mate Sheridan and Andrews a few other the monkey pod room boys?
Abbott has had his time and stuffed it. He should leave parliament – maybe the next CEO of Australia Post.
Surely his undermining is just going to create a huge sinkhole beneath his own feet. He’s up to his chin already methinks.