Washington for ‘ambassador Rudd’ if Labor wins

Anthony Albanese has told some senior party colleagues he is in favour of appointing Kevin Rudd as Australia’s next ambassador to Washington if Labor wins.

Kevin Rudd as prime minister and Anthony Albanese as his deputy when the Labor Party last governed in 2013.

Anthony Albanese has told some senior party colleagues he is in favour of appointing Kevin Rudd as Australia’s next ambassador to Washington if Labor wins the ­federal election.

The Opposition Leader has remained a “huge Rudd supporter” since the pair were Labor MPs in opposition during the Howard government years, and his backing for Mr Rudd as prime minister never wavered.

Senior Labor figures supporting Mr Rudd going to Washington say he has solid foreign policy credentials for Australia’s highest diplomatic post, liaising with our closest ally and alliance partner.

Mr Rudd, who began his career as a diplomat, has connections in the US capital and served as chairman of US think tank the Inter­national Peace Institute, based in New York.

Others in senior Labor ranks are highly sceptical about sending Mr Rudd to Washington, fearing his status as a former Australian prime minister and apparent appetite for maintaining a high personal profile could pose problems for Canberra.

They say handing Mr Rudd Australia’s top diplomatic post would be a mistake if he continued to speak out independently on policy issues, beyond serving the government’s interests, or possibly contrary to official policy.

“He’d be seen as Australia’s prime minister in Washington,” one senior critic inside Labor said. “It could be a disaster.”

If Mr Rudd were appointed to Washington under Labor, his immediate boss in Canberra would be Penny Wong as Mr Albanese’s foreign minister.

Australia’s ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos. Picture: Britta Campion

Australia’s current ambassador to the US, former Liberal senator and minister Arthur Sinodinos, took up his position in February 2020 after being appointed by Scott Morrison.

Mr Sinodinos succeeded former Liberal treasurer Joe Hockey, appointed by Malcolm Turnbull.

Whichever party wins next month’s election, selecting a new ambassador for the US could be an early significant decision if Mr Sino­dinos completes three years and returns home early next year.

The alternative would be if a Labor government recalled Mr Sino­dinos early, opening the way for his immediate replacement.

Mr Rudd has been vocal in his support for his former deputy’s tilt for the prime ministership and as early as Sunday said he would campaign widely for Mr Albanese.

“I’m already home & confirmed to campaign in 20 seats,” the ­former prime minister said on Twitter.

The Australian asked Mr Albanese if he recalled telling senior party colleagues he favoured ­appointing Mr Rudd as the next ambassador to Washington if Labor was elected.

Mr Albanese was also asked if he and Mr Rudd had had a discussion about the Washington post or any other diplomatic position.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd last year. Picture: AAP

The Opposition Leader declined to comment. The Australian sought comment from Mr Rudd.

When Mr Morrison announced the appointments of Liberal senators Sinodinos and Mitch Fifield to diplomatic posts immediately after the May 2019 election, Mr Albanese as new ­Opposition Leader said Mr Sino­dinos was a personal friend on the other side of politics, and wished him well in Washington.

However, he dismissed both appointments as “jobs for the boys”, saying Mr Morrison’s announcement at his first press conference after winning the election was “hubris” and “arrogant”.

“When people elected the government on Saturday, they didn’t give them a blank cheque … every politician who’d ever served or spoken to someone in the government got an appointment in the lead-up to the election, I thought that was unwise and I think this show of arrogance is unwise as well,” he said then.

Other past political appointments to Washington include former Labor leader Kim Beazley, appointed by Mr Rudd in 2010, and former Liberal leader Andrew Peacock, appointed by John Howard soon after winning the 1996 election.

The last non-politician in the role was Dennis Richardson, Mr Beazley’s predecessor, appointed by Mr Howard after a distinguished career as a diplomat and security chief.

Mr Albanese and Mr Rudd have remained very close over the past two decades, and Mr Albanese was joined by the former prime minister on the campaign hustings in Brisbane in February.

Andrew Peacock in 1997.

Kim Beazley in 2010.

Throughout the turbulent time when Mr Rudd was unseated as PM by his own party in 2010 and replaced by Julia Gillard, Mr Albanese stayed loyal, voting for him to remain in office.

Mr Albanese pledged his allegiance to Ms Gillard as prime minister but switched back when she was ousted before the 2013 election, making an emotional public announcement that he supported the partyroom push to reinstate Mr Rudd.

While other Labor MPs have been critical of Mr Rudd since losing the 2013 election, for alleged “grandstanding” on international policy and media issues, Mr Albanese has remained firmly loyal.

Mr Albanese appears not to have had misgivings about some of Mr Rudd’s public interjections, although Labor did confirm last week it did not support the former PM’s campaign for a royal commission into Rupert Murdoch’s media interests in Australia.

“Albanese is a huge Rudd supporter, and has been for a long time,” one senior source said, on condition of anonymity.

“What could Albanese give Rudd that would be suitable to him? He could appoint him ambassador to the UN (in New York) but that doesn’t carry much influence and wouldn’t be enough for Rudd.”

Labor critics of appointing Mr Rudd to Washington said they did not discount the merits of him scoring a different diplomatic post. They said another position – such as high commissioner in London, held by former Liberal senator and attorney-general ­George Brandis – could be more appropriate. While still a senior ranking, it was not regarded as sensitive or significant a post as Washington.

Some other Labor names have been mentioned for the US ambassadorship, though not seriously at this stage, if an Albanese government made a political appointment to Washington and did not revert to picking a career diplomat such as Mr Richardson.

Among the names are former ministers Stephen Conroy and Stephen Smith, former senator Stephen Loosley and former NSW union boss Michael Easson.

Since Labor’s 2019 defeat, Bill Shorten has privately floated a possible Labor leadership comeback if his party loses the next few elections. A “plan B” also suggested is that Mr Albanese, as prime minister, might appoint his former leadership rival to Washington. Sources close to Mr Albanese say he has ruled out this idea.

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