I picked this up the other morning in Readings. I must say I don’t mind a bit of Annabel Crabb on Insiders or the occasional column of hers that I come across – I even read her book on the Labor party a few years back. Her writing has a dry sense of humour and she has an ability to pick up on particular themes quite incisively.
The essay itself is quite readable, but it didn’t strike me as a particularly wonderful piece of writing – most of the information about MT is already in the public domain so there wasn’t anything new about the subject. I’d knew nothing of ‘The Cat’ and found that episode quite amusing but beyond that I found it a little bland. I think I was seeking more analysis – a little more detail but by the sound of it, the essay was formed around spending a few days following MT around Tasmania. And no doubt there’s a word limit in this format of writing.
Since I finished reading this about a week ago, Peter Costello has resigned thereby leaving MT to lead the way but it seems the eruption of Ute-Gate might swing public opinion against him. Almost ironic that what started as potentially one of the best week’s in his political career might end as one of worst.
