An Australian political leader came under attack yesterday for speaking what many would consider a self-evident truth — that not everything any politician says can be believed.
Tony Abbott, leader of the conservative opposition Liberal Party, stunned many political observers in his explanation during a television interview on Monday night of a back flip on his month-old promise to raise no new taxes if his party is voted into power.
He now promises to levy a new company tax to fund paid maternity leave if he becomes prime minister at elections late this year.
DISTINCTION
Abbott, a 52-year-old former seminarian, drew a distinction between what he sometimes says “in the heat of discussion” and “an absolutely calm, considered, prepared, scripted remark.”
“Which is one of the reasons why the statements that need to be taken absolutely as gospel truth is [sic] those carefully prepared, scripted remarks,” Abbott told Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC).
“All of us, when we’re in the heat of verbal combat, so to speak, will sometimes say things that go a little bit further,” he said.
The remarks were described in the media yesterday as a gaffe that could haunt Abbott’s election campaign in the months ahead.
The Courier Mail newspaper described the explanation as “an almost fatal admission: Only believe what I say when I say you can.”
The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper saw his comments as “an extraordinary admission” during what The Age newspaper said was a “damaging interview.”
The government seized on the remarks as evidence that Abbott, who has made big gains in opinion polls, was not a credible leader.
“It’s kind of like the fine print on the bottom of the packet saying, ‘use this product, but by the way, it might kill you,’” Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner told ABC radio.
‘PHONEY TONY’
Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard labeled Abbott “Phoney Tony,” while her Labor party also rushed out a political attack ad aimed at undermining the opposition chief.
“Next time Mr Abbott says anything, ask yourself, ‘Is he telling the truth?’ Because by his own admission, he’s probably lying,” the TV advert said.
Abbott’s colleagues, however, defended his comments as a mark of his honesty.
“The thing about Tony Abbott is he’s a straight shooter,” senior Liberal lawmaker Joe Hockey said.
Communications adviser Allan Pease described Abbott’s comments as risky.
“If I was his adviser, I’d now tell him to continue down that line of talking about politicians not telling the truth — because that’s what we all think anyway — and use it to his advantage,” Pease told Sky News television, though he added that such a strategy could also backfire and become “political suicide.”
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The