Miranda Devine: Australians should thank their lucky stars for Scott Morrison

Australians of all political stripes should count themselves lucky they have Scott Morrison as Prime Minister and not Joe Biden, writes Miranda Devine.

Australians of all political stripes should count themselves lucky they have Scott Morrison as Prime Minister and not Joe Biden. Morrison exhibited superhuman stamina on his five-day US visit, was good-hum­oured, in command and always on top of his brief in a jam-packed schedule of meetings.

It was a reminder that the task of leading a democratic nation at a time of global peril in a 24/7 media environment requires enormous physical and mental reserves of strength, especially when you are separated by the pandemic for extended ­periods from your wife and two little girls and berated by spiteful critics for ­visiting your family on Father’s Day.

Surely it is easier for an energetic Prime Minister of 53 than a fading President of 79.

The contrast between Morrison and Biden is stark. By all accounts the US President was in rare form during meetings with foreign leaders all week. He was described by a number of people in delegations from different nations as lucid, coherent and diligently ticking off agenda items.

This was at odds with how Biden came across at the G7 in Cornwall, where he was described by one British observer as “confused”, “totally out of it” and “delirious”. He also was said to have irritated his hosts with his goo-goo ­attentions to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s 33-year-old wife Carrie.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison meeting US President Biden in the White House last week. Picture: Adam Taylor

Its been obvious for months that Biden’s energy level and cognitive function waxes and wanes. He can conduct a high-powered meeting, or engage in a presidential debate relatively adroitly one day, and yet struggle to read a teleprompter speech or remember where he left his mask the next.

The dichotomy has left half of America believing he has lost his marbles and is being manipulated by shadowy powerbrokers and the other half still thinking he is a fully functional president who calls the shots. Whatever is the case, it’s safe to say Biden is not a young 79. The images of his stumbling while climbing the stairs of Air Force One are emblematic of his presidency.

His verbal incoherence is often ­explained away as a congenital stutter but the old Biden was on the political stage for 40 years without exhibiting such weakness. He is three years younger than John Howard, who is as sprightly and engaged as ever, so it’s not just a matter of age.

While Morrison offered the small Australian press pack travelling with him almost daily press conferences, Biden is remote and largely inaccessible to US media.

When he does deign to hold a press conference, he calls on a small pre-­arranged list of friendly hacks and then turns his back and walks out, ignoring shouted questions.

Last week, even the tame White House press corps was indignant at the contrast between how Boris Johnson treated the UK media pack and how Biden treats them. After photographers had taken enough pictures of the two leaders in the Oval House, Johnson cheekily asked Biden “would it be OK if we just have a couple of questions?”

“Good luck,” Biden said sarcastically.

Two surprise questions were then lobbed from the UK press to the President. But when American journalists tried to follow up, aggressive White House staffers with the official title of “wrangler” began shrieking to drown out their voices and forced them out the door.

Biden seems to find such scenes amusing.

The scorned American journalists lodged a formal complaint over the unequal treatment. But White House press secretary Jen Psaki blamed Johnson: “He called on individuals from his press corps without alerting us to that intention in advance.”

Scott Morrison is looking towards the election following his trip to the US. Picture: Terry Pontikos

A few days later, during a meeting with the Indian Prime Minister, Biden doubled down, telling Narendra Modi that Indian journalists are “much better behaved” than the US press corps.

Psaki said the President was annoyed with American reporters for asking questions that are not “on point”.

In other words, Biden wants the press to ask questions only on his chosen topic of the day.

Morrison, by contrast, took questions from all comers about any topic. He was, of course, asked “on point” questions about his new Australia-UK-US defence alliance and the Quad grouping with the US, India and Japan, the focus of his Washington trip.

He was asked about his meetings with the IMF and the World Bank, where Australia’s low Covid death rate apparently was met with astonishment.

He was asked when he would commit Australia to zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 (this was a favourite of the ABC) – he said he would make an announcement before the Glasgow ­climate-fest in November.

He was asked about Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific and if Australia’s purchase of nuclear-powered submarines through AUKUS would be a game changer – yes, he said.

One day I asked about the violent scenes of lockdown protesters in Melbourne which had gone viral in the US; was he running an “authoritarian dystopia, a gulag?”.

He denied it but added cryptically that premiers who impose restrictions in their states, “I’m quite certain they know they’re accountable for those actions”.

The PM even found time to share a beer and sausage sandwiches one night last week with journalists, Australian ambassador Arthur Sinodinos and his charming wife Elizabeth on the poolside patio of the flower-filled ambassadorial residence, where, two nights earlier, Morrison and the British PM had dined on Wagyu beef and Penfolds Shiraz.

In the informal setting, Morrison was candid, relaxed and chuffed about the enthusiastic reception he had received in Washington on his first visit since the Democrats took over the White House, the House and the Senate.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will quarantine for 14 days in Canberra at The Lodge. Picture: Adam Taylor

Far from being treated as a Trump-loving climate pariah, Morrison was praised by partisan Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as “leading the way” on climate action when he went to Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

Morrison somehow has managed to evade global climate opprobrium while rescuing Australian coal as a low-cost, reliable energy source into the future.

The inclusion of the qualifier “unabated” referring to “coal power generation” in June’s G7 communique was a masterstroke of multilateral diplomacy with energy-hungry Japan and India in cahoots and even greenie Johnson understanding Australia’s situation and willing to help out a friend.

Living in New York, reading the Australian media portrayal of Morrison over the past year, I expected to find a diminished figure, bruised and humbled by shaky poll numbers, vaccine mistakes, lockdown-happy Labor Premiers, climate civil wars and the old “your party is sexist” weapon deployed against Liberal prime ministers.

Instead, Morrison was more crafty and self-assured than he was two years ago. Steering the nation through a pandemic and figuring out a way to stave off China’s growing menace seems to have made him stronger.

By the time the election comes around next year, you wouldn’t want to bet against him.

Miranda Devine is in New York for 18 months to cover current affairs for The Daily Telegraph