“I think what all your listeners would expect… that we all get back to the priority of dealing with the challenges of jobs, small business and schools.” – Kevin Rudd on ABC 612 in Queensland.
Probably the best thing Mr Rudd has said in a long time. Yet still he cops a grilling from a fickle and hypocritical media. Mr Rudd’s advisors, newspaper readers and voters are all aware that ute-gate is a dying if not completely dead story. The only people that seem to care about this ten-day old story are the press.
On Monday, a rather snappy Mr Rudd lashed out at Queensland radio presenter Madonna King when asked about the ute he received from John Grant.
After sticking the boot into Malcolm Turnbull over the past ten days, it is clear that the electorate is well and truly over the political brawl.
Mr Rudd’s line has all the hallmarks of a well-tested focus grouped key message. Having won the battle over OzCar, it is now time for the PM to occupy the high ground and address the electorate’s real concerns.
The morally upstanding columnists of multiple newspapers have been calling on both sides of politics to return to the main game of the economy and jobs. They have asked that the political circus end. As soon as the PM attempts this, he cops a blasting for avoiding questions.
Yesterday’s papers were full of accusations of “side-stepping”, “ranting at the media” and “putting the brakes on the utegate brawl.”
Some days you just have to absorb the media flack and hope the electorate sees the forest for the trees. Ten days after the story broke, the only people interested in this story are a group of lazy journalists flogging a dead horse. Let’s move on.
