Peter Dutton’s proposed nuclear power plants would be built at seven sites around the country.Credit:Monique Westermann
Since Dutton became leader,columnists have competed to describe how perfectly awful he is. Niki Savva has described him variously in this masthead as manipulative,nasty and – somewhat prematurely,it now seems –an asset to Albanese.
Literary factualistLech Blaine used aQuarterly Essay to sketch him as a “bad cop”,declaring that he eats “bleeding-heart lefties for breakfast” (I guess the babies were wily enough to escape his maw). Peter Dutton,so Blaine writes,“is tall and bald,with a resting death stare”. And his lips – oh Lech,don’t linger too long on those lips! – “are allergic to political correctness”.
InThe Guardian,then political editor,now official in-house Albanese publicist Katharine Murphy declared less poetically that “Peter Dutton is the exploding fire hydrant of politics,pushing his party to the angry fringes and electoral oblivion”.
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The Dutton delirium has sold copies,drawn clicks. But he has not been pushed to electoral oblivion. With each click,hitting the Dutton button has created less alarm. Perhaps it’s a matter of the boy who cried wolf? When the wolf finally showed up,we saw that he’s more of a German shepherd. Dutton has become more familiar and,perhaps even thanks to the overwrought writers,rather less frightening.
Per the polls. According to Resolve’s latest for this masthead (corroborated by a number of other electoral samples)Dutton has pulled ahead of Anthony Albanese as preferred prime minister.
But now Dutton has released his nuclear strategy,he’s surely radioactive toast. Or so you’ll be told. By the very same hysteria that was certain that all Albanese had to do to secure success was to pray Dutton remained his opponent.