If John Howard had expressed a public desire to “shag” Nicole Kidman, or if Tony Abbot had replied to a question about the “most crap gift” he had ever received by citing the book he was given by the Crown Prince of Abu Dubai on the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, or if Scott Morrison had made melon jokes complete with hand gestures about the breasts of Jacinta Ardern, the explosions of outrage would have been so violent we’d still be feeling the aftershocks.

Expressing a desire to “shag” a famous performer, insulting the deeply symbolic gifts of a foreign government, engaging in sleazy inuendo about the body of a female prime minister - any one of these shows astonishing lack of judgement. To squeeze all three into one interview is remarkable.

Hi Rhian,

For someone who has been on the political scene for 30 years, you would think Albo would have better political judgement than taking part in some not even funny podcast. The whole thing was a set up, where were his political advisers, politicians have advisers, and PM's have lots of them, knowing the jackals are always circling, ready to pounce when you least expect it. You only do dumb stuff if you are certain its going to win you votes, not the opposite.

Recently I've watched Albanese, Taylor and Faruqi appear on the ABC show Kitchen Cabinet with Annabel Crabb. Its all warm and fuzzy, which any politician worth their salt should know warm and fuzzy is always a vote winner, it projects you as being "human", like the rest of us.

Things that worked badly for other PM's

John Howard, children overboard, and his "never ever" a GST.

Tony Abbott, said "sh!t happens" when referring to the death of an Australian solderer in Afghanistan.

Scott Morrison, "I don't hold a hose, mate" while bush fires ravaged the country.

It was very ill-judged. The impending visit of the Japanese foreign minister is an opportunity to apologise. Let’s hope he takes it.

Paul, the other instances you quote are interesting. Yes, Howard said he’d “never ever” introduce a GST. But when he changed his mind, he told the electorate why and took it to an election. That’s a huge difference from this Government’s broken promise on CGT. I admired Howard for his political courage and honesty on that issue, and thought the GST was a good idea, and voted for him in 1998. I was disgusted by the “children overboard” statement and never voted for him again after it.

I think Abbott’s “s___ happens” comment in context was a reflection of the randomness and unpredictability of war, not dismissive or unsympathetic. But Morrison’s “I don't hold a hose”, though technically correct, was both.

Yes, politicians are human, and sometimes they stuff up. The best ones admit it and apologise when they ought to, and sometimes we even think better of them for it – arguably Bob Hawke, Bill Clinton and John Howard gained electoral traction after famous apologies.

This Prime Minister cannot admit he fell off a stage even when there are hundreds of clips on YouTube showing him do precisely that.

Hi Rhian,

I'm not trying to compare and contrast, times change, Keating when he had the audacity to lay a hand upon her majesty. Something that would not raise an eyebrow today. From experience I can say politicians have to be on their guard when it comes to journos.

Magoo. The melon head that keeps on giving.
Armchair Critic,
Great documentary, is it from ABC/SBS ?