Will Tuesday’s SMH contain an annual “it’s been a good year for hyperbole” column from Gerard Henderson? (eg “March. your man so-and-so claims such and such. Really.)
[Update: here it is, 'hyperbole and soothsaying.']
As you know, Gerard reckons anyone who doubts the tactical brilliance of the elevation of Tony Abbott to the Liberal leadership, and/or fails to discern the multiple instances of nimble cleverness displayed by the new leader since then, is an embittered Lefty projecting their own miserable views onto the populace.
“Howard-hater” was and remains a favoured phrase of Gerard’s.
As you also know, Mr Henderson makes fun of people who make dud political calls, often, again, putting it down to bias and lack of understanding of middle Australia.
He also sometimes sort of hints after the same political events that he had correctly anticipated the result. And before the last election he did have a bit of a veiled dab at the result, albeit not very successfully. (Which may be why 2007 was the first election since the early 1990s not to get a Henderson column devoted to ridiculing bad predictions.)
However, I certainly recall Gerard, on the radio some time after the last election, asserting that Abbott would never become Liberal leader. Have searched the web but can’t find it, but the words from memory were “I don’t think he will” in response to a question (from Fran Kelly?) about whether Abbott would ever lead the party.
So by his own logic Gerard dislikes not only Abbott but the majority of the Liberal partyroom.
[Update: here's an mp3 (2.5mb) of the Nov 30 2007 chat, containing this exchange:
Gerard: “I don’t think Tony Abbott’s a challenge to anyone”
Fran: “Ever?”
Gerard: “I don’t think so, he’s not going to lead the Liberal party in my view … “]
And what bitterness led Gerard to write in the Age on 4 April 1995 that ”it seems likely that the next federal election will be a closely fought contest. This has been so for most elections in the past three decades with the exception of 1975, 1977 and 1983″.
As you know, 1996 ended up joining that list of landslides (size-wise in descending order they go: 1975, 1977, 1996 and 1983).
So by his own logic Gerard in that instance hated both John Howard and the Australian people.
(Am considering a ‘Gerard Henderson’ category at top to replace the ‘Tony Abbott’ one.)
Very bitter man who realises that life has passed him by and is constantly seeking the opportunity to state his relevance, which if it were there at some point, has long since deserted him.
It’s been a bad year for humorless curmudgeons:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/did-they-say-that-traps-for-the-sages-and-soothsayers-20091228-lh7e.html
It’s the anti intellectualism of Gerard’s approach that intrigues me. He is so fond of referring to history but when things don’t work out the way he expects he has no other comeback other than that the facts are just plain wrong.
Re Henderson and Abbott, he told Fran Kelly on Radio National breakfast, 30/11/2007, that Abbott ‘is not a challenge to anyone’
[...] to Henderson post last week, here’s an mp3 (2.5mb) of the Nov 30 2007 chat between Fran and Gerard on ABC RN [...]
[...] win in 2007 (or almost win); and Tony Abbott never to lead the Liberal Party. (More here.) He plays with [...]
[...] pointed out recently that latte drinkers have continually underestimated Tony Abbott. Clearly, as Mumble discovered, Gerard also enjoys a drop, having ruled out in 2007 the chance of Abbott ever becoming leader. [...]