This morning, new Nationals leader David Littleproud was on Radio National, continuing with his push to make the party more conciliatory after the Barnaby Joyce of it all. He said he planned to lead a constructive party of opposition, confessing: “I actually like Anthony [Albanese]. He’s a good mate … “
After seemingly every election, the political class stop telling you that their opponents are incompetent, corrupt ideologues who are at this very moment attempting to push your car off a cliff and instead start telling you what thoroughly decent people they are. It’s the direct inverse of the rash of stories featuring disgruntled MPs anonymously telling us what fuckwits their colleagues are, and seemingly it’s just as inevitable.
Then there was Kristina Keneally, who didn’t even need to be prompted to list her opponents’ good points. On her way out of politics after her parachute into the seat of Fowler failed to deploy, she was asked by Peter FitzSimons for any “war stories, things we don’t know”, and took it as a chance to shower praise on this rogues’ gallery:
Matt Canavan is a lovely bloke, though we don’t agree on anything. Senator Anne Ruston and I used to often text each other keto diet recipes during question time, and Malcolm Roberts is one of the most chivalrous and polite human beings you will ever meet.
Perhaps she’s returning to Sky News and expects she’ll have to see quite a bit more of them?
Tanya Plibersek on Sunrise made a point of wishing Barnaby Joyce well and talking about her “soft spot” for “old school Nats”, comparing her attendance at Paul Neville’s farewell with “the mother of the bride showing up at the bucks night”, which got a huge laugh. Joyce, looking redder than usual (is he capable of blushing?) added: “If Tanya doesn’t get on the frontbench, there will be riot.”
“It probably surprises people that, behind the scenes, we often get along very well …” Plibersek had said to kick off the lovefest.
Which is true until you consider that 90% of modern professional politicians have a great deal more in common with each other than they do with the people who vote for them.
Matt Canavan is “nice”, despite everything he says and does to destroy the environment for every living creature on the planet?!?
I truly don’t get it.
Like Dutton, who can walk out on the Apology, send his military-styled goon squad thru the streets of Melbourne asking people for their papers, and war-monger to his heart’s content, but we’re meant to ignore all that real-life stuff, because behind it all is a real sweet fella? Yeah, nah.
We seem to live in a land where the biggest @rse h@les are somehow great blokes, so long as after they’ve knocked off work at the puppy-drowning factory, they can tell a decent joke and shout their round at the pub. All is forgiven, he’s a beaut bloke, really! Do anything for ya!
There is an important difference between how you act socially, versus what you do EVERYDAY in real life TO REAL PEOPLE. The first part is meaningless without the second part backing it up.
If someone wants to BE a kind and good person, then they need TO DO kind and good things.
It’s as simple as that!
I can’t uptick you enough on this.
“It probably surprises people that, behind the scenes, we often get along very well …” Plibersek had said to kick off the lovefest.
Which is true until you consider that 90% of modern professional politicians have a great deal more in common with each other than they do with the people who vote for them.
Which should be enough to kill off all this ridiculous anticipation of either a serious federal integrity commission or any other credible inquiry into the misdeeds of the last government. Even less chance of any consequences for the guilty. Those in the 90% will never have a bar of it, they’re all in it together. All that name-calling and argy-bargy in parliamentary question time and so on is just play-acting for the cameras because the public expects a bit of a show. It does not mean anything.
whose every pronouncement is deranged.
Words have consequences – for either side.
A personal character reference for someone whose policies have resulted in such negative consequences for so many and their environment? Do these politicians get our frustration (living in the world their policies craft) with their “system”?
…. Are they (in this case Labor) that superficial in their “cause” to “make things better”?
wtf?! – I’ve lost real friends due to their climate denying, anti-vaxing, racist, anti-LGBTQI+ opinions – life is too short and I’m too tired to be “friends” with people who are destroying our democracy and our planet – I hope Plibersek and her ilk are lying
News Flash – they are all as corrupt & complicit as each other. Hooda thunk it?
I’ll never forget (nor forgive) Sen. Wong (of all people) telling us, after the 2019 thumping, that “Sen. Birmingham is a good friend and someone with whom I can work…”.