The real reason the Abbott Government is in such trouble is because there are two ALP moles in its highest ranks, writes Ray Barraclough.
I BELIEVE I have found the real reason why the current Australian government faces internal turmoil.
The evidence comes to me repeatedly from what I see in the public performance of two of the major figures involved.
I say "performance" deliberately because that is the key to this revelation. It has to do with acting and acting skills. (Or the absence of some such skills, as I will explain.)
At the outset, let me state what I have discerned. And I am keenly aware that what I say may come as a surprise to you, for none of the commentators in the media seem to have grasped what is actually happening.
It is this. There are two ALP "moles" in the highest ranks of the Cabinet. And it is in watching their press conferences and interviews that I have come to discern vital clues indicating that this is the case in regard to these two powerful politicians.
The major "mole" is Tony Abbott.
His minder has obviously told him to learn his lines thoroughly. That means time to be spent off-stage repeating the lines over and over again to get them lodged in his brain. Unfortunately, because Tony has not been trained in drama school, he has not realised that in the real performance the lines need only to be said once. The constant repetition of the same lines is for rehearsals, not for speeches in the real theatre.
For the second "mole" it is a different, but understandable, failure in stage craft.
Like many of us who have not been trained in the theatre, Scott Morrison tends to over-act. I surmise that his minder (or minders) have advised him to play the role of a good cabinet minister, coming across with an air of infallibility and a steady, but not 'in your face', arrogance.
But given Scott's drive and energy — he overacts. So, instead of a humble infallibility, it tends to be an intense infallibility. Instead of just steady arrogance it is menacing arrogance. I sometimes have to take a step back from my TV set during a 7:30 interview on the ABC. because of Scott's 'over-the-top' acting style.
Though I will say this for Scott. He has mastered the stage appearance that Raymond Burr was able to potray so menacingly in Alfred Hitchcock's famous movie Rear Window.
Scott Morrison says ministers should focus on their day jobs as speculation mounts over leadership. #auspol https://t.co/Rg7c4us2bT
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) February 2, 2015
I almost forgot to mention the other compelling evidence for the "mole" scoop — namely that there have been a number of adroit Abbott decisions designed to weaken the Government but which have been well covered up by the repetition of words like "consult", "colleagues", "team" and "captain".
The most glaring was he knighthood decision. That almost gave him away. It was far too clumsy. But none of his colleagues stumbled on the real reason or on the overall consistent strategy.
Anyway, that is my prognosis. Now, how can I get anyone to be my "mole" in, say, the Murdoch press to share this insight with my fellow members of Team Australia?
The John Graham cartoon at the top of the page is available for purchase (as an original, not a print) from the IA store.
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LNP PM crisis: Abbott says backbench too 'intimidated' to tell him concerns #yathink #auspol http://t.co/4tEBwR46qo https://t.co/CeYdEO0CTQ
— Bruce Campbell (@nvisionthing_au) February 4, 2015
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