Ghost Who Talks and Talks and Talks

“When you stop being prime minister, that’s it,” Malcolm Turnbull declared in 2018.

“There is no way I’d be hanging around like embittered Kevin Rudd or Tony Abbott,” Turnbull continued. “Seriously, these people are like, sort of miserable, miserable ghosts.”

But not only is Turnbull still “hanging around”, he’s actively haunting Scott Morrison all the way over in Glasgow:

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has slammed Scott Morrison for his “sneaky”, “shameful” and “duplicitous” behaviour that has strained Australia’s diplomatic relationship with France.

Speaking from the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Mr Turnbull said Mr Morrison “should apologise” for “double dealing” the French over the submarine deal.

Mr Turnbull’s comments come after a day of back-and-forth between Mr Morrison and French President Emmanuel Macron, who accused Mr Morrison of lying about dumping their $90bn submarine contract in favour of a nuclear powered pact with the US and the UK.

Less than 24 hours after the public accusation, private text messages, presumably leaked from the Prime Minister’s Office, emerged, essentially undermining Mr Macron’s statement.

Anthony Albanese is also on Team Macron. This morning's Daily Telegraph editorial:

So now we have an Australian Labor leader taking the word of a French politician over the word of Australia’s PM.

It takes a lot to out-surrender the French. But by giving in to his need to score political points, Albanese has done it. He put up absolutely no resistance at all …

There are not a lot of Australian votes in Paris. But you can lose a lot of votes in Australia by being a French fan boy.

This sensible fellow has the right Glasgow attitude:

Biden appears to fall asleep during COP26 opening speeches pic.twitter.com/az8NZTWanI

— Zach Purser Brown (@zachjourno) November 1, 2021

UPDATE. Possibly concerned about vermin and violence, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer is reporting on Glasgow from one hour away in Edinburgh:

I’m now reporting from Edinburgh in Scotland where 20,000 world leaders and delegates have gathered for the COP26 Climate Summit. COP, by the way, stands for “Conference of the Parties.” It’s the 26th time they have gathered to discuss and take action on this critical issue. pic.twitter.com/BGTAeU5cBy

— Wolf Blitzer (@wolfblitzer) November 1, 2021

Appropriately, Edinburgh hosts an annual fringe festival.

UPDATE II:

One of the most hotly contested events of any climate conference is which charter plane proves the most popular among attendees.

In just 24 hours 9 charters have landed at Glasgow, and it hasn't even begun yet! Stay tuned for updates and, as always, gamble responsibly!! pic.twitter.com/tTR0z3Krzs

— Matthew Canavan (@mattjcan) November 1, 2021