The fallout from Treasurer Joe Hockey’s new authorised biography – Hockey: Not Your Average Joe – continues, with The AFR’s Laura Tingle slamming the book’s poor timing and the portrayal of Hockey as a “very hollow vessel”:
Unfortunately the book has emerged at perhaps the worst possible time: the budget sales pitch has been a disaster; many budget measures face an uncertain future, and Hockey has been damaged – in the way of these things – by both criticisms of the budget and by perceptions it was ultimately an Abbott budget.
This has only increased a dull clang that seems to come from a very hollow vessel portrayed in the book, and amplified the unhappiness of colleagues underwhelmed by the distraction.
…voters don’t know what Joe – or the government of which he is a leading member – stands for except that they don’t like it very much.
…this government is unpopular for making tough decisions that don’t seem to add up, and which leave questions over what will be left when the demolition job with the cricket bats is finished…
The Sydney Morning Herald’s Damien Murphy has also chimed in, noting the disquiet within the Coalition party room and Hockey’s self-indulgence:
Coalition colleagues are muttering about Mr Hockey’s sense of self-importance and timing…
None of Mr Hockey’s federal colleagues attended the book launch…
As noted yesterday, the ill-timed release of the Hockey biography represents a genuine political clanger. The Coalition’s pre-election claim that the “adults are back in charge” has taken a hit, with the book highlighting that division, infighting and general backroom disloyalty is not just confined to Labor.
