Gloating ghosts of prime ministers past come home to heal in their own special ways
Drubbing. Michael Koziol, The Sydney Morning Herald, October 22:
Guess who’s back. ... Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has returned ... following the Liberals’ drubbing in his former seat of Wentworth.
Hew asked for a drubbing? Anne Davies, The Guardian, October 10:
Former Liberal leader John Hewson has called on (Wentworth) voters ... (to give) the Liberals ... “a drubbing”.
Aaron Patrick, The Australian Financial Review, October 22:
“It’s clear... that the final week lost that election, not my tweets,” (said) Alex Turnbull ...
Alex Turnbull tweets, then deletes October 17:
gotta say after a solid couple weeks of wrecking, undermining and sniping I feel ya (Tony Abbott).
Alex Turnbull tweets October 21:
my work here is done. back to the dumpster fire of asian capital markets.
Where was Malcolm? Sam Clench, news.com.au, October 18:
With just days left before the by-election to fill his old seat ... Mr Turnbull raised eyebrows by mysteriously liking a tweet expressing support for ... independent Kerryn Phelps. “Back handing out ... how-to-vote cards for Kerryn Phelps ... No longer wondering ‘Where’s Malcolm?’ Just hoping for a strong independent win on Saturday,” the tweet (said). ...The like was undone within minutes ... (It suggests) Turnbull shares his son Alex’s desire to see the Liberals beaten ...
Trappist monk? David Crowe, The Sydney Morning Herald, October 1:
Mr Turnbull (said) ... “There is no way I’m going to be hanging around like an embittered Kevin Rudd or Tony Abbott ... these people are just ... miserable ghosts.” ... (Regarding big issues like the republic, he said) “I’ll obviously express views on big issues, energy, constitutional matters, I’m not going to become a Trappist monk.”
Kevin Rudd tweets October 1:
Dear Malcolm. A quick reality check on “miserable ghosts”: 1st, having told the world you’ve left politics behind, you seem to be in the media every day talking about it. 2nd, in case you didn’t notice, I left parliament for NYC 5 years ago. Why not come over for a cuppa?
Healing. Peter Hartcher, The Sydney Morning Herald, October 20:
Rudd says that he’s past the bitterness ... “It’s time for healing. It’s time for reconciliation. ”
Healing, Rudd-style. Latika Bourke, Sydney Morning Herald, October 21:
Mr Rudd said ... “Not only had (Labor treasurer Wayne) Swan been treacherous, he’d been a coward ...
(and lacked) “cerebral horsepower” ... “It was an all-round appalling performance,” (he said). ... weak treasurers could improve with careful tuition but that didn’t apply to Mr Swan because “that assumed there was a basic level of intellectual software capable of being trained, as well as a treasurer sufficiently interested in being trained. ... In Swan’s case, neither condition existed.” ... When Euromoney named ... (Swan) as the world’s best finance minister in 2011, “there was an almost audible dropping of jaw around the departments of Treasury, Finance and Prime Minister and Cabinet ... (and) in the political treachery stakes, Jason Clare doesn’t just have a first-class honours degree; he has a PhD.”
Conjugation Barnaby-style. Shattered. Simon Benson, The Australian, October 21:
(Barnaby Joyce) said Mr Turnbull’s reputation would be shattered because he ... “shat on the place and left.”
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