Scott Morrison is clutching at straws in a big way with claims that opposition leader Anthony Albanese’s recent weight loss is evidence he doesn’t know who he is.
Speaking on Sky’s Paul Murray Live, the PM told the audience “I’m not pretending to be anyone else.”
“I’m still wearing the same sunglasses. Sadly, the same suits. I weigh about the same size and I don’t mind a bit of Italian cake … I’m not pretending to be anyone else.”
“And when you’re Prime Minister, you can’t pretend to be anyone else. You’ve got to know who you are, because if you don’t know who you are, then how are other people going to know?”
The PM’s green-eyed comments come off the back of Labor leader Albanese’s significant 18kg weight loss as well as an exclusive magazine photoshoot with Women’s Weekly in which the opposition leader was styled in a linen shirt and chinos, drawing praise from hundreds across social media.
But more than stemming from a patently (and embarrassingly) envious place, Morrison’s central message here is grossly irresponsible.
It’s irresponsible because Australia’s obesity rate is already sky-high, with global forecasts predicting that the level of obesity in Australia will rise by 1.8 percentage points this year. Moreover, middle aged men like Morrison and Albanese are high risk with 4 in 5 men aged 55–64 being overweight or obese.
So what is Morrison actually achieving by deriding Albanese’s healthy lifestyle choices? Nothing moral, that’s for sure.
Basically the PM is working to uphold a damaging trope that “blokes don’t care”. They don’t need to care about their health or fitness or lifestyle and shouldn’t worry about maintaining a regular diet of steak and tinnies. In essence? To care about your health is unmanly.
Albanese’s choice to look after his health and cut down on drinking, as he’s expressed recently, isn’t proof that he’s disingenuous or doesn’t know who he is. It’s proof that he gives a shit about his life, and ensuring he’s the best partner, father and colleague. It’s proof that he cares about the role model he is for Australians.
And while Morrison might clutch feebly to an archaic theory that good leaders don’t change, he’d do well to reflect on the vast number of Australians wishing he’d do exactly that.
