Does Anthony Albanese want to be taken seriously? If he does then his recent itinerary is baffling.
Take the Australian Prime Minister’s fireside chat with controversial and polarising UK broadcaster Piers Morgan, for example.
In London, to soak up the pomp and pageantry of the weekend’s coronation, our leader engaged in big complex issues, like discussing the definition of a woman, whether Joe Biden was getting too old, and why as a passionate republican, he would be swearing allegiance to the new King.
And on that last issue, he sounded as convincing as a royal commentator who might think Prince Harry will still claim a front seat at the coronation of his dad.
But it’s not only the Morgan interview that has perplexed some in his own party, as well as those on the Opposition benches.
Anthony Albanese’s decision to dress up and attend shock jock Kylie Sandilands’ wedding, smiling for photos with the broadcaster’s baby son, is just as perplexing.
Why? With no suggestion he is a long-term or close friend to Sandilands or his new wife Tegan Kynaston, it simply appeared transparently opportunistic; a politician in search of cheap celebrity.
Anthony Albanese complained once that he has always been underestimated, but surely this isn’t the way to prove otherwise. This isn’t how a confident statesman navigating serious issues behaves, is it?
The Albanese government is trotting into the middle of its term.
The first year traditionally delivers a modicum of forgiveness, as a new government plots and plans its own story. And the last year, which leads into an election, is usually given over to campaigning, with the attention targeting how to stay in office.
Mid-term is where it’s important to do the tough stuff; to forge a change that will create a legacy for the government, but especially the people it serves. This is particularly the case when the Opposition is foundering in finding its future.
Anthony Albanese is up for creating historic change.
The Voice, if passed, will be a seminal moment in our history, and a well-deserved legacy for a prime minister who shuns being underestimated.
This month’s budget, with the cost of living and mortgage rises biting into household’s hopes and dreams, is crucial too; a test of how this government – and its leader – responds to those who need it most.
He’s not Scott Morrison
But so far, Anthony Albanese has proved to be an enigma. His ascension to the prime ministerial throne is attributable to him not being Scott Morrison.
He’s not. But who is our nation’s 31st prime minister?
His odd judgments this week make that question more difficult to answer, in part because he would know they would raise the ire of some of those who voted for him.
Those in his party would find some of his ditzy responses to Piers Morgan puzzling, as the JobSeeker allowance and rising interest rates dominate discussions back home.
And across the political spectrum, it’s understandable to wonder why the Australian Prime Minister would think it was a good move to take to the dance floor, at the million-dollar wedding of the provocative and irreverent Sandilands.
But he’s confusing voters, too. We saw that in the response of protesters who heckled him over affordable housing as he pledged $240 million for a stadium in Hobart.
And in Queensland, where he marched in the Labor Day parade, before telling thousands of workers it was a commemoration of “working people struggling to achieve decent wages and conditions …’’
That was the same week as wedding shenanigans in Sydney and monarchy mania in the UK.
Perhaps Anthony Albanese is simply trying to appeal to everyone. Or even embarking on a bit of mid-term fun.
But his judgments this week begs the question: Who is Anthony Albanese?
Voters will want an answer to that, well before he heads back to the polls.
