The Tracks of His Tears

On a recent Bolt Report, discussing Bill Shorten’s teary response to a Daily Telegraph article concerning the career of his mother, Andrew Bolt and David Speers seemed to agree that, finally, we might have seen ‘the real’ Bill Shorten. It’s a curious idea, this one – the notion that an angry or emotional politician is revealing his or her true character. Ah, but is it true?  Let’s look at a few examples.

The first to mind is Tony Abbott.  The ‘real’ Tony Abbott has been on display every day of his long political career. You may not like him but you cannot claim he conceals his true, essentially decent, persona. Ditto John Howard.  Ditto Scott Morrison.

On the other side of the coin, the same is true of Malcolm Turnbull – his self-interest, arrogance and propensity for treachery have always been evident — mainly, I’m guessing, because Turnbull considered it beneath him to conceal characteristics others might seek to hide about themselves. Ditto Paul…