My Mate Malcolm

By Rupert Truscott-Hughes on November 17, 2015 in Other

Back in September 2013, a couple months shy of the last election, I penned a piece titled ‘Look Good In Leather’, which was basically a puff-piece pushing the positive attributes of my friend and Point Piper neighbour Malcolm Turnbull (including his infamous leather jacket of yore).

In it, I wrote:

“Popular opinion seems to suggest that if Turnbull was leading the Libs, Kevin (Rudd) and his cronies would be reduced to also-rans, but instead we’re faced with a Tony Abbott led Liberal party that should win, maybe.”

“What’s even more worrying is that if Tony doesn’t stuff it up, Our Malcolm will face the ignominy of playing second fiddle to the Mad Monk for at least one term, maybe more, and it’s very unlikely that the Libs will want to indulge in the leadership musical chairs made famous by their opponents.”

Two years on and while Tony Abbott did take out that election reasonably comfortably, my postulation about Liberal leadership volatility couldn’t have been further from correct. While Tony Abbott did prove to be a ‘prize turkey’, as I correctly picked back in 2013, I don’t think anyone would’ve tipped him to be toppled well within his first term.

Postulations (correct or otherwise) aside, I’m pretty proud to say that I share a suburb with the Prime Minister of Australia, and if it increases the value of my sprawling property, better still. It’s also been great for security in the area and I’ve been able to save a few bob on own my detail as the Commonwealth is pretty much picking up the tab for the entire peninsula these days.

Now that Malcolm has made his way to the top of Australia’s political ladder, it will be interesting to see how he goes in the top job and whether he can avoid the proverbial snakes. The slide down to the ranks of backbencher was swift and brutal for One-term Tony, but for a bloke who kept rolling ones it was hardly surprising. Turnbull’s common sense approach and relatability (despite being worth a zillion dollars) should hold him in good stead now that the dice are in his hands.

That said (and I promise that there’ll be no more terrible ‘snakes and ladders’ analogies), Mr Turnbull would’ve almost certainly had to grease a few palms (from a policy perspective rather than literally) to guarantee the numbers that would ensure his gilt-edged sword slid effortlessly between Abbott’s shoulder blades. With respect to that, it’s hard to imagine that issues Turnbull is known to support and have made him so popular, such as gay marriage and dealing with climate change, will be tackled with any great urgency now that he’s getting around in the limo with ‘C1’ license plates.

This is where the public needs to practice some patience. To quote the reputable Kiwi political figurehead Rachel Hunter: “It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen.” I’m confident that with Malcolm at the helm, the country is a better place.

Now that I’ve written these kind words, I just have to convince the big fella to build me a big marina down at Rose Bay.