From the moment Scott Morrison’s interview with Karl Stefanovic began on 60 Minutes last night, Australia’s collective eye twitch went into overdrive. We were treated to 25 minutes of spin and smugness that we all could have done without.
Sure, if you were watching the program without knowing who our PM was, or what he’s become known for, you may have been tricked into pegging him as a somewhat benign, daggy dad with a penchant for cook book curries and terrible family sing-alongs. But for those of us watching who have endured his destructive leadership over the past three years, no modicum of cuteness was cutting through.
Here were the top five most cringeworthy moments:
Grace Tame should have demonstrated “manners and respect”
It’s fair to say that Jenny Morrison is no longer the PM’s “secret weapon” as touted in Channel Nine promotions, after she suggested Grace Tame should have been more polite during her attendance at this year’s Australian of the Year reception at The Lodge in Canberra.
Asked about Tame’s frosty conduct toward her husband, Jenny Morrison noted her disappointment, suggesting that while she’d want her own daughters to be “fierce” and “independent” she’d also expect them to show “manners and respect”. Jenny made no comment about Tame’s well-documented reasons for not smiling and playing up to the cameras on the PM’s behalf, nor did she commend Tame for her remarkable contribution to public life.
The comments from the PM’s wife drew widespread derision across social media, with thousands of people jumping to Tame’s defence.
“He’s married to the job”
When queried over what her husband’s worst traits were, Jenny Morrison was quick to jump in: “He’s married to the job,” she told Stefanovic.
It was the equivalent of someone in a job interview suggesting their biggest shortcoming was “caring too much” or “working too hard”. In essence, it was phony and manufactured.
When Australians have endured 2+ years of ongoing hardship living through a pandemic in which our Prime Minister has failed at most major hurdles, it’s grating to hear someone describe his supposed dedication in this way.
“I didn’t believe it”
When probed on how he felt after alleged text messages surfaced between former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and a senior federal Cabinet Minister in which the pair referred to the PM as “a horrible, horrible person” and “a complete psycho”, Morrison shrugged it off: “I didn’t believe it”, he told Stefanovic.
But doesn’t that go to the heart of the problem with Scott Morrison?
He walks stubbornly through his tenure, assuming he’s doing the right thing, not taking feedback on board, (or, in this case, text messages from colleagues slamming his character). He refuses to accept or reflect upon the fact he might need to show a greater level of accountability. He refuses to accept that people might not be 100% satisfied with his approach and there’s work to improve. Without reflection, how can we ever expect him to evolve?
His claim of being focused on the “quiet Australians”
The Morrisons claimed to feel confident about the Coalition’s re-election prospects, telling Stefanovic they were focused on the “quiet Australians”, who have been content for the most part through Scott’s leadership. But while they claimed that the noise-makers weren’t necessarily the majority, they failed to acknowledge that the biggest noise-makers this election will be women. And women occupy 51% of the population.
From all political and ideological sides, thousands of women have spent recent years calling time on pervasive mistreatment, sexual misconduct, bullying, power struggles and misogyny. They have called time on the deep cultural crisis occurring inside the corridors of Parliament House, following the brave allegations of Brittany Higgins. They have called time on Morrison and his ministers’ blind eye.
There is zero possibility of the PM being ushered into another term of government if he fails to address this meaningfully. But what can he really achieve in a couple of months?
Prayer as proof of empathy
Since his first dire leadership decision to fly to Hawaii at the peak of Australia’s 2019 bushfires for a family holiday, Morrison has been plagued by accusations that he lacks empathy.
So when Stefanovic asked the question: “What lies beneath?”, we expected Morrison to fight hard to show us how far he’s come and how much he cares. Instead? We got a nauseating statement about the power of prayer:
“Of course,” said Morrison. “I said at the start of the pandemic, I’ve worn out the carpet on the side of my bed, particularly down in Canberra where I’ve spent most of the pandemic on my knees– praying, and praying. Praying not just for our response but praying for those who are losing loved ones; praying for those who couldn’t go to family funerals; praying for those who were exhausted; praying for the young men and women I was sending into aged care centres– which were just, they won’t forget what they saw.”
The PM told Stefanovic: “I pray for miracles every day, Karl,” as though such a statement should assure Australians of safe hands leadership.
But when we’re electing someone to lead the coutnry, we need more than prayer. We need good, strong, collaborative leadership. We need hard decisions made in the best interest of the country, not the political agenda. In three years we’ve gotten the opposite from Scott Morrison.
And no amount of confected media interviews will change that fact.