Tony Abbott likes to remind people that he’s a former journalist, and he did just that as he opened yesterday’s much-anticipated speech at the Press Club in Canberra.
Most political commentators think the speech was too little too late for Abbott and it’s now a matter of when, not if, he will be rolled for a more popular candidate. Essential polling published exclusively by Crikey today shows most Liberal voters want Julie Bishop as a replacement, while voters overall prefer Malcolm Turnbull.
But for a former journalist, Abbott has always seemed to hold the press in especially low regard. Indeed, this clanger from the PM yesterday — in response to a question about whether he had his colleagues’ support — was particularly revealing:
“We’ve had a rough couple of months, I accept that. We’ve had a rough couple of months. We’ve had a couple of months where if journalists ring up and ask about some element of government policy, the correct answer — which is, I support the government, and the policy’s a good one — has not always been given. I accept that we’ve had a couple of months where if journalists ring up and ask about individuals and personalities in the government, the correct answer — a great person, doing a great job — has not been given. I accept all of that.”
Got that, backbenchers? Your job is to unquestioningly back the leader of your party, even when he is haemorrhaging in the polls, you disagree with his policies and those who put you in office can’t stand them or him either.
What we’re unclear about here at Crikey is how that fits with this piece of advice, which Abbott gave to AAP journalist Paul Osborne at the conclusion of yesterday’s address:
“I know that whatever we say or do, Labor will run a scare campaign. I know that. And Paul, your job, if I may say so, is not to just run the scare campaign. I mean, your job is to hold all politicians and all political parties to the same standard of accountability.”
It wasn’t a clanger but it does show the futility of a running an effective leadership in the face of a feral press during a political crisis. Journalists deserve to be held in low regard because to most of them, blood on the floor is the only thing that matters. Gillard was dogged by this as well. When any press conference is hijacked by questions about the leadership, the press is not doing its job.
I well remember Tanya Plibersek and a colleague giving a press conference at Westmead about some new health initiative in western Sydney and they could not get a single question from the press about it, just unending speculation about Rudd and Julia’s leadership.
Today we had Joe Hockey being asked to give a running commentary on Peta Credlin’s employment performance live on breakfast TV. The frenzy today about Julie Bishop’s refusal to commit to not challenging is a case in point. Why would any politician at any time ever make such a commitment?
I’ve not much sympathy for Tony. My prediction is that he will lead the Coalition into the 2016 election and the ALP will win.
One aspect that hasn’t changed, an aspect that hasn’t changed is Toxic’s constant repetition, repeating constantly an aspect that hasn’t changed.
Perhaps it is because he has so few ideas or even individual words rattling around inside his damaged brain that the only way he can fill empty air is to repeat & reiterate & repeat,mostly the exact words – not eve rephrasing.
Please stay PM, you are Bile Shlornt’s best, indeed only, selling point.