Kevin Rudd’s position as ambassador to the US is becoming very messy.
It is not yet untenable. But unless the pile on stops, it may start to head that way.
This all now comes down to what Rudd does himself.
There is no way that Anthony Albanese should recall him.
You can’t have a foreign power tell a country who their ambassador should be.
This would be unacceptable for any country and for obvious reasons. But for Albanese, it is more complicated.
Against some of the advice of his colleagues, Rudd’s appointment was Albanese’s captain’s pick.
The longer that controversy is fuelled over Rudd, the more it could also become an internal problem for the Prime Minister.
There will be those in the cabinet who might be inclined to remind the Prime Minister that he was warned.
As unlikely as Albanese is to recall Rudd, nor is he about to ask his friend to fall on his sword.
What happens from here is now a decision for Rudd to make.
He needs to make a judgment in the national interest over his own interests.
This isn’t a question of merit. Rudd’s abilities as ambassador are widely regarded.
The problem is if there are enough people around Trump who want to make an issue of it. And clearly there are some.
This will not be driven by Trump himself. In all likelihood, he probably wouldn’t care enough.
But the latest missive from Trump senior adviser Dan Scavino, who posted on social media the image of an hourglass suggesting Rudd’s time was running out, is damaging.
Even if it was a case of freelancing, there are clearly now Trump loyalists running around hunting political deer and Rudd just happens to have a target on his head for some of them.
The truth is that Rudd shouldn’t be a problem. He is eminently capable and has been an instrumental force in the Australia-US relationship.
Both sides of politics, including even former Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison, have backed Rudd to stay.
This may start to shift if those around Trump want to continue to make an issue of it.
Rudd certainly hasn’t helped himself by failing to delete his offended texts until recently. It’s bewildering that he hadn’t done so years ago.
Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump gave Rudd a road map out of it all when she suggested prior to the election that a withdrawal of Rudd’s remarks might go a long way to resolving it.
Just look at JD Vance.
In the end, there are big issues that Australia and the US will have to work through with the change of administration.
The least of these issues should be the position of ambassador.
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