The PM and the Blind Freddy Factor

Where did it all go wrong for Kevin Rudd?

Six months after thrashing John Howard his approval rating was 70 per cent. He appeared to be a politician of supernatural skill, immune to the most finely reasoned criticism from analysts or opponents.

He called a 2020 Summit to invite new ideas. It was an event of Scandinavian, backpackerish charm. Everyone paid their own way to Canberra. The PM sat on the floor during a meeting. That was our Kevin. Can you imagine another PM sitting on the floor?

He ticked off the big boxes. Workplace agreements were over. He said Sorry and snookered the Opposition leader into being his “partner” as architect of the future of indigenous Australians. He spoke sternly to the Chinese. He talked of nation-building and invoked memories of Ben Chifley, a meticulous man capable of bold leaps of imagination that led to the Snowy Mountains scheme, post-war immigration, and the Holden.

His Treasurer delivered a first Budget with billions of dollars set aside for leaps of imagination.

Even his brief absence overseas made history, anointing Julia Gillard our first acting female PM.

Kevin 0 was aiming for greatness. Now his approval rating is 56 per cent.

The spell is broken. A series of small mistakes and stumbles added together have made our Magic Kevin look just a bit ordinary.

The worst of these mistakes was his part in the controversy over an exhibition of photographs by Bill Henson.

Henson is an artist who has been exhibiting for many years. There has always been debate about his work. Some people don’t like it much. Some do. That’s how it goes in the art world. Blind Freddy could have told the PM to hold his tongue. The arts community can bite back hard when it feels threatened. Since the police raided Roslyn Oxley’s gallery in Paddington there has been a long queue forming to defend Bill Henson from the slur of pornography and the implication of paedophilia. Cate Blanchett is among them. Even Malcolm Turnbull is among them. The case will never come to a court.

A courtroom is not an ideal place to settle matters of art. It is a great place to test character. Henson has nothing to fear from a trial. The only outcome would be humiliation for his detractors. Imagine the smile on the face of a defense barrister who could call Cate Blanchett as first witness.

To go back to the beginning, why did our PM feel obliged to comment at all? He is skilled enough to dodge a question if he wants to. He was invited to take a shot at an easy target and he fell for it. Did his instinct tell him that he could not go far wrong with a platitude about letting children be children? He went further than that. He got personal. In doing so he looked foolish and ill-informed.

What he said doesn’t matter now. That he said anything at all is astonishing. The Prime Minister of Australia unnecessarily made a comment about an exhibition of photographs which he had not seen. He saw only edited versions. He should have said he could not comment.

He could have said that he could not understand why he was being asked to comment. He could have said many things. He could have said that armed police do not belong in art galleries. Instead he took the easy way. Many people will not forget that.

Several years ago, when our Kevin was a humble shadow spokesperson for foreign affairs, I saw him at Watters gallery in Sydney speaking at the opening of an exhibition of works by a Chinese artist. The woman standing next to me sighed and said “Why can’t we have someone like him for Prime Minister?”

I could see what she meant. I never imagined it would happen. She was unusually prescient then. Now she thinks he is a worm like all the others.

That’s one lost vote. The PM and the “hard” men and women of Labor might want to think about that for a few minutes.

To halt his slide in the opinion polls, to recover any ground at all, the PM needs better briefing and advice. He needs someone who can whisper in his ear “Don’t touch this. There’s nothing in it for you. Keep your hands down when the cameras are on. When in doubt sit on the floor – you look cute that way.”

He needs a Blind Freddy, an adviser who can spot the obvious for him while his own mind is full of Chifleyesque visions for the future.

Meanwhile, when this ugly process is over, when the charges against Henson are dropped or a trial concluded, the Prime Minister should apologise to him. What would Chifley do?

An Open Letter to the Prime Minister, The Hon. Kevin Rudd

Prime Minister,

There is now a level of hope and expectation in Australia that we have not experienced since 1972. Since your stunning election victory four months ago you have moved swiftly in many symbolic areas to to fulfill the expectation : Australian morale is at a record high.

As you now examine the ideas from the 2020 summit I urge you to reflect on Labor’s proud role as the agent of change in our history.

Think back to Curtin, who imagined a new strategic alliance for our long-term future.

Think back to Chifley, a meticulous man capable of bold leaps of imagination which led to the Snowy Mountains scheme, massive postwar immigration, and the Holden.

Nation-building is a task that we must grapple with every day. It is not something already done, a page in history. Like civilization itself, it is the accumulation of small steps forward taken every day by individuals in their own lives – governments take the big steps and create the framework.

Curtin imagined a new future for this country. My grandfather was a clerk with the Queensland railways and played his small part in keeping the troop and supply trains running on time. That’s how it works. We all have our part to play in building the nation and creating the future.

Think also of more recent history. Many people feel that Labor lost its way under Hawke and Keating, that it became a career club for chums more interested in the perks of office than in nation-building. Keating revived some of the spirit but his memorable speeches (Redfern, the Unknown Soldier) were not enough. He could not name the price of a loaf of bread. People lost faith.

Ultimately it is the quality of moral and intellectual leadership that makes a successful government.

Keynote speeches are, nevertheless, important. They create intimacy and invite consent. You will need to find writers who can assist you in the crafting of such speeches for special occasions.

I wish you well. You clearly understand that people want more from a government than mere economic management. So much that is good in life has no price tag. People cherish their friends, family, community. They want only a good life for themselves and opportunities for their children. They appreciate beauty and abhor injustice. These things illuminate our lives and, dare I say, give them radiance.

I believe you have the energy and commitment to keep Labor on track as the party that remembers all these things.

“Let us move forward with a strong and active faith.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

“We live in a land too old for petty thoughts”. – John Davies

The end of a romance

Today I will simply post a poem. I wrote it many years ago but it is still a favourite. You are welcome to circulate it and share it with friends so long as my name remains attached to it.

LUNCH

what becomes of them

the red napkin, the soup
her nervous nail polish
tapping the marble table

her insulted mouth
closing on lasagna and salad

the chilled dew of chablis
on her peach coloured lips

her sceptical shoulders
when she speaks

and her skin
shimmering resentment
when he speaks

what becomes of them
when the table is cleared
and she leaves to invent
a life without miracles

- John Davies