The government is standing by Kevin Rudd, albeit with gritted teeth, in the face of calls for him to be replaced as Australia’s ambassador to Washington. But the row is an unhelpful and potentially damaging distraction for a prime minister beset by problems and under the shadow of an approaching election.
Rudd was always set to be controversial if Donald Trump returned, so Anthony Albanese’s appointing him was a gamble.
Moreover, Rudd doesn’t help himself. For example, why didn’t he delete his social media posts graphically disparaging Trump as soon as he was named for the post? Instead, he did so last week, after Trump’s election. His accompanying personal statement announcing the fact just drew fresh attention to the comments, producing a story in the New York Times.
