Flicking the switch is also becoming more common in the US election, where Kamala Harris has clung to talk shows like The View, and Donald Trump to the breezy Fox and Friends. In Australia, though, there are fewer local media options. The Midday Show is long gone, and audiences continue to turn away from local TV and film.
Thus, Bob Hawke’s 1986 appearance on A Country Practice, when he gave a speech at a rock concert in support of the kids of Burrigan High who were taking a stand against nuclear bases, will never be repeated.
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Nor will Gough Whitlam’s commandeering the 1974 coarse yobbo comedy Barry McKenzie Holds His Own, where the PM appears in the final scene to make Edna Everage a dame. He was promoting the Australian film industry, you see. Can you imagine the backlash today?
You would have to have a heart of concrete to deny Albo his fun, but some voters are genuinely miffed at a time when he is becoming increasingly unpopular. According to Monday’s The Australian Financial Review/ Freshwater Strategy Poll, despite being the preferred prime minister ahead of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, he leads by just one point (44 per cent to Dutton’s 43). Spicks and Specks is unlikely to shift that dial.
Since taking office, Albanese has often taken the soft option. So much so that this masthead dubbed him the FM PM, noting that in his first year in office, he notched up 172 press conferences, 89 television interviews and 128 radio appearances – he has even been on Hot Tomato FM where he fielded questions about why Taylor Swift didn’t perform in Queensland.
Voters can resist attempts to humanise politicians, but Sunday’s effort worked. Albo had fun, viewers had fun, he got a few questions right, he was able to show a genuine side of himself and – crucially – his team won, even if the result did feel as contrived as a preselection ballot from his old days as a factional brawler (the final question related to a song by Ben Lee, who coincidentally happened to be on the PM’s team).
If nothing else, it was just nice to see a political leader on prime-time television enthusing about something other than sport.
Stephen Brook is a special correspondent and CBD columnist.
