Paul Keating’s letter to former Unions NSW secretary John Robertson not-so congratulating him on taking his seat in the NSW Upper House, has been much leaked, and much commented upon. Here, though, for the first time is the full, fruity text. If you have trouble reading the image below, we’ve linked to the letter here.
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Keating’s was a nasty letter. It could not be described as anything but negative. How this type of personal vindictiveness can be cheered is beyond me. Does the Left really harbor so much hatred?
If this is to be applauded, if this type of mean-spirited corresponence is to represent the Left’s tendency to communicate an “I-told-you-so”, then I fear for its loss of compassion and sensibility, becuse Keating in his letter goes far beyond the point at hand.
This was the same Keating who used to make fun of Hewson’s lisp. Crude and lacking any finesse.
Such spiteful insensitivity is indicative of neither a progressive nor a liberal. It’s indicative of a man who hates.
Jim: The fact is that Howard would never write such a letter in the first place. He has too much class to lower himself to such personal name-calling. Another great example of the difference:
Keating after his one and only election victory: “How sweet it is”
Howard after his fourth election victory: “How humbled I am”
They are a class apart. Paul Keating is the gutter man.
I actually thought he was relatively controlled. Lets face it, whichever side of the fence you sit on, he is right on the money with this one. This Mr Robertson and others like him have totally compromised the NSW govt.
Say what you want about the Mr Keating, but he is always articulate and informed. Whether he was negative towards the liberal Party and or individuals in politics-on the bigger picture he was always looking to Australia’s future and the a creation of a positive vision of our place in the world. He attempted to do this through both his social and economic policies.
HIs reformation of our economy, tweaked by the Liberals with the addition of the GST, have put us in a strong position today. There is no doubt he was beset by depression but…..HE’s BACK !
Craig: Nah………..I’ve met old fogeys who were 25……..Keating’s an ideas man…..how many do we have in Oz ????……if you don’t get it, you are OLD…………old son………..& unless you’re going to stun we Crikey readers with an alternative progressive Australian political model….then stand back …….and let the magnificent Australian progressive that Keating surely is, continue his on-going stimulation of public discourse.
Keating obviously has a fair bit of spare time on his hands these days, but he can still craft a very effective letter (or speech) in plain english.Maybe the Kruddster could employ him as a speechwriter?
Craig, you can’t really write PJK off as a one term wonder, as he and Hawke were regarded as a team for much of their political life.
Great letter, Paul.