Jacinda Ardern’s fiance has taken a cheeky swipe at Anthony Albanese’s music taste after the Australian prime minister and his New Zealand counterpart exchanged records during the pair’s first face-to-face meeting.
Ardern and Albanese, who have both moonlighted as DJs in the past, made the customary display of gift-giving at their first meeting since the federal election in Sydney on Thursday, with both opting for the high-risk, high-reward gift of music.
Both selected homegrown artists, with Ardern receiving Powderfinger, Midnight Oil and Spiderbait, while Albanese was gifted Aldous Harding, the Clean, Reb Fountain and punk compilation AK79, all from Flying Nun – the New Zealand record label synonymous with “cool”.
“[Albanese] was kind enough to gift me Midnight Oil, Spiderbait and Powderfinger on vinyl, so we left him with a few Flying Nun treats in return,” Ardern said in an Instagram post.
To choose music for another can be at best illuminating and at worst awkward, but in the realm of politics, leaders must remain diplomatic regardless. Both leaders appeared chuffed with their gifts in photographs posted to social media, but Ardern’s fiance, Clarke Gayford, took a less generous view.
“Midnight Oil, Spiderbait and The Finger????!!!!,” he exclaimed under Ardern’s Instagram post. “What is this, 2004???”
He was not the only one, with other social media users promptly panning Albanese’s choice of Powderfinger.
Imagine gifting someone these certified delights and they turn around and sling you a Powderfinger record. pic.twitter.com/whEGtEI7Se
— Benjam*n M*llar (@BenjaminMillar) June 9, 2022
When asked by the Today show on Channel Nine why Ardern had never swapped music with former prime minister Scott Morrison, Ardern replied: “We talked about music on one occasion, but I’m not sure I would have picked necessarily the right music if I was given that task.”
Pics heading into today's bilat.
— Thomas Coughlan (@coughlthom) June 10, 2022
Albanese joked that possibly the only two former DJs to ever be elected prime minister were in the room. https://t.co/R5n9nSaUgi
Ardern and Albanese have both played highly publicized DJ sets during their political careers. In 2016, Albanese played a charity event in Melbourne, and still makes a habit of dropping song lyrics into his speeches, while Ardern helped headline Auckland’s popular Laneway festival in 2014.
Earlier in the week, Ardern disappointed perhaps very few people when she ruled out performing a dual DJ set with her Australian counterpart.
“No, that’s a firm no,” Bloomberg reported Ardern said. “I have not raised that question with the prime minister-elect but I think I can feel fairly confident in answering on both of our behalf.”
