Chinese propaganda outlet endorses Anthony Albanese as ‘better PM’ than Scott Morrison

Government-owned media outlet The Global Times has praised Anthony Albanese as a ‘safe leader’, saying he ‘positively shines’ compared to Scott Morrison.

Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese during Question Time on Tuesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The Chinese government’s propaganda mouthpiece, The Global Times, has published an article endorsing Labor leader Anthony Albanese as a better prime minister than Scott Morrison.

The government-owned media outlet, which espouses the views of the Chinese Communist Party, is promoting an article praising Mr Albanese as a “safe leader”, saying he “positively shines compared to Morrison”.

By contrast, Mr Morrison is described as a “clown” and is accused of leading a government that is “imploding through corruption, failure to manage Covid-19, and a range of other anti-social programs and prejudices”.

#Opinion: Albanese will not be a charismatic leader but he positively shines compared to Morrison. Such is abysmal state of Oz politics. One would like to see a reset in ties with China, but Oz leadership is weak & US pressure is sustained. @bruce_haighhttps://t.co/oDtwErucOn

— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) February 14, 2022

The Global Times tweeted on Monday: “Albanese will not be a charismatic leader but he positively shines compared to Morrison. Such is the abysmal state of Oz politics. One would like to see a reset in ties with China, but Oz leadership is weak and US pressure is sustained.”

The author of the piece is Bruce Haigh, a former diplomat with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In his article, he writes that the “Murdoch-dominated media in Australia is anti-China, and many in the Australian population go along with this view”. He goes on to say that Mr Albanese is “being swept along by a fear of upsetting voters prior to the federal election due in weeks”.

The Global Times article criticises Mr Albanese for believing the “US view of the world without analysis”, and for accepting “AUKUS and a dangerously increased US defence presence in Australia”.

The chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, James Paterson, said The Global Times was a tool of propaganda for the Chinese Communist Party.

“They don’t typically publish opinion they disagree with,” he said. “It’s increasingly clear those who seek to coerce Australia don’t want to see the Morrison government re-elected this year.”

It comes as the Morrison government launched an attack on Mr Albanese and his Labor team for being weak on national security and also being the Chinese government’s party of choice.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton made a controversial claim in parliament last week that China would prefer an Albanese government at the looming election.

Labor accused him of weaponising national security, and said there was no evidence China’s preference was for Labor to win.