Here is the problem.
Anthony Albanese has publicly endorsed Kevin Rudd and confirmed Donald Trump told the Australian ambassador “all is forgiven” for the ambassador’s past criticism of the US President.
The Prime Minister also confirmed Dr Rudd’s appointment as Ambassador to Washington was for a four-year period, which means he would stay in the role until 2027.
Mr Albanese used two public events to shower praise on Dr Rudd, crediting his ambassador for the success of his Washington visit, and saying there was “no harder working (ambassador) than Australia’s envoy.
Why is Albo talking about Kevin? Because that’s the way that Kevin likes it. Much the same as the way Donald likes it.
Australia has incredible advantages with the US right now. Our geography is irreplaceable, both as the anchor of US hard power in the Indo-Pacific and as the source of critical minerals to the US military.
One $13bn deal is a giant nothing burger in this context. The counterfactual is that a grand partnership could be underway with the US that fortifies Australia, as well as helping end its fantastic vulnerabilities to naval blockade, both for energy and trade.
How can we forget that China just circumnavigated Australia in a practice run of nuking every major city? How is this an effective alliance?
Instead, the Rudd strategy has been to sustain the unsustainable. To come to a fork in the road and take it. This is the same thing we have done for twenty-five years, as if nothing has happened.
But something has happened. Xi Jinping has turned China from a liberalisation path to a police state path. He is in a grand alliance with Russia to achieve the same thing. Cold War 2.0 is raging.
Ignoring this is the same thing we did in the lead-up to WWII, as Pig Iron Bob built the imperial Japanese naval machine. It nearly cost us everything.
Australia has been last in the queue in getting a deal with the White House. Rudd still has no contact with it. We are getting things done despite, not because of, him.
The alliance is very strong because it has so many shared interests. But it is not stronger owing to Kevin and Donald’s shared need to be at the centre of all things. Donald forgets and forgives nothing, and ANZUS is weakened at the worst possible time.
We’d be much better off with Kevin as ambassador to the Holy See.
