‘I don’t think, I know’ – what makes Macron’s comments about Morrison so extraordinary and so worrying

Macron also took these further steps to ensure his message did not get lost in translation:

• He made the comments in English. The French President speaks English but usually uses French, the language of the republic he represents. Using English was a way of speaking to Australians directly, rather than having a voiceover doing a translation from the French.
• He spoke to the media of a foreign country – usually a world leader would not engage informally with media from other countries. This is done formally, at joint press conferences.
• He did not use “diplo-speak”. Macron is a highly educated, polished politician who knows how to choose his words and send subtle messages. This message was deliberately blunt.

F'ing Probyn over there, stirring up trouble and embarrasing the govenment, just for a good soundbyte on the 7:00pm news.

Here's Michelle Grattan. She's been in the press gallery since forever, working for the Canberra Timse, Fin review and The Age. She's now a Prof at the Uni of Canberra. She's long been considerately and astutely in the centre of Australian politics.

She asks "How will Macron’s ‘pants on fire’ claim about Morrison play in the focus groups?"

And that sums up the state of Australian politics. It's about the spin. Nothing else.

Great article.

These politicians are of low quality recently. Maybe it's a bias, but what they're saying is pretty embarrassing, in this case, the Australian government. Welcome to the club. :cool:

We did see how Andrew Probyn set that up? Asking the question, 'so, do you think Scott Morrison lied?' If it had been an exchange in court, it would be disallowed as 'leading the witness'. What's Macron going to say to that? His country is furious, probably rightly, is he going to say, 'oh, no, Morrison is as pure as the driven snow'. So he answers, yes of course he lied. There's supposed to be something going on about something...yeah, that's right, climate or something .....now the entire Australian media is just on about this one exchange. Sometimes, the press is just so utterly infuriating.

Yes, but, notice he spoke in English to the press, he could have left had he wanted to. Or said "no comment." Yeah, the press is a nightmare, but Macron knew what he was doing, clearly. Especially in an event of this magnitude.

We did see how Andrew Probyn set that up? — Wayfarer

Yes, Macron astutely addressed the Australian people. He's not Probyn's muppet. If Probin set it up it was with Macron's full consent.

And should we be focused on climate? Oh, yes, indeed; but the most important issue for Australia in regard to climate is lack of leadership.

Which is exactly what Macron addressed.

SO, that little event was exactly on the mark.

Yeah, the press is a nightmare, but Macron knew what he was doing, clearly. Especially in an event of this magnitude. — Manuel

I agree. But the Australian media still gave him a free kick just to stir up trouble. There's plenty wrong with Morrison, and I sincerely hope he looses the next election, not that I think he will, but I think it was just cheap journalism. I can see why a lot of people hate the ABC when it pulls that kind of trick (even though I myself am a rusted-on audience member.)

One may not like him, but he's a capable politician. Which is a strange thing to say these days.

but I think it was just cheap journalism. — Wayfarer

I mean, sure. Not being too cynical about it, it's becoming more difficult not to find cheap journalism. Or at least there's much more bad journalism everywhere.

"I think the statements that were made questioning Australia's integrity, and the slurs that had been placed on Australia — not me, I've got broad shoulders, I can deal with that — but those slurs, I'm not going to cop sledging of Australia," Mr Morrison said.

There's the spin: it was Australia's integrity that was slandered, not Scotty's.

Sickening.

vote chasing — StreetlightX

There will be 'pork' in most of these big arm deals and surely in ANKUS as well.

Pig farms, likely. Also, I should have said: vote rewarding.

The biggest issue I saw in that French deal was the 'made in Australia' requirement, which added much to the price tag. Building warships requires significant infrastructure, which would have been built from scratch in Australia. Such a path would only make sense as a long term investment, ie if Australia seriously wants to kickstart a domestic ship building industry. Pending that rationale, the 'made in Australia' clause made very little sense. Other than electoral of course

It was a job guarantee for a South Australian electorate. It's the very thing by which the deal made sense at all.

(For those outside Australia - this is a comment on the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison (empty plan) and the Opposition Leader, Anthony Albanese, Labor (small target) and their respective approaches to climate policy.)

Morrison Government rejects key COP26 objectives hours after agreeing to them in Glasgow

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/angus-taylor-rejects-cop26-objectives-coal-net-zero-2030-target/13631082

wow what a surprise said no one ever

Hmmm. Scotty is sending police and troops to the Solomons... apparently to prevent a takeover by the Chinese, or something like that.

I smell an election.

I smell an election. — Banno

No, the man's a national hero and a savior of.... some shit.

Bridget Archer is my hero this week.

Crossing the floor is hard to do. I see another independent candidate in the making.

And yet, moderate Liberals may be our last, best hope. The "broad church" is inherently conflicted, containing as it does the rational small "l"'s uncomfortably cohabiting with the Crazed Right*. The Crazed Right has been in the ascendency at least since Abbot, preventing any progress; not by right of numbers but simply by rhetorical force; the small "l"'s have habitually bowed to the Crazed Right for fear of exposing any of those internal conflicts.

See Grattan on Friday.


*A term carefully chosen after it's use in ceramics.


...cracked pots.

Nicely put and I think that's right.

Meanwhile Defence Minister Peter Dutton screams "look over there! Look at China! Don't look at the Government!"

"We all travel on roads, but what is the infrastructure that has kept us alive and together through this pandemic? It is the human and social infrastructure of the care economy, one that is powered by women who are often underpaid, if they're paid at all." — COVID gave us a once-in-a-lifetime natural experiment — but Scott Morrison has turned his back on the lessons

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/joyce-says-assange-shouldn-t-be-extradited-to-us-20211213-p59h1j.html

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says Julian Assange should not be extradited to the United States to face espionage charges, calling for the WikiLeaks founder to either be put on trial in Britain or brought back to Australia. Mr Joyce said the Australian citizen, who has spent more than two years in Belmarsh Prison in south-east London, should not be forcibly sent to the US because he was not on American soil at the time of his alleged offences.

Broken clocks somethingsomething.

Playing to some of his base and shitting off ScoMo is surely his intent.

Is indeed an bad day when one is compelled to agree with Joyce about something.

On a more cheerful note, Albo is coming across pretty well, I saw him on 7:30 the other week and thought he knocked it out of the park (sorry, americanism, hit it for six). Morrison has done so abysmally the last few months I'm beginning to think he really could lose.

*sigh*