The official portrait of Australia’s 27th Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, was unveiled at Parliament House on Wednesday and for reasons that remain somewhat opaque to all observers she was flanked at said event by the 28th, Tony Abbott.
The relationship between Abbott and Gillard has, it’s fair to say, been less than entirely convivial. Although it was ages ago, and who can remember who implied that whose father died of shame at his daughter’s time in office, or who told who that they weren’t going to be lectured on misogyny and sexism by this man? No-one, that’s who.
Anyway: Tony turned up to the event and… look, this happened.
https://twitter.com/HarlowGavin/status/1054959057893765123
Actually, based on this video, is… is Tony a ghost and we’re the only ones who see him? ARE WE THE SIXTH SENSE?
In a way it’s a spiritual cousin to Abbott’s classic 28 second silence when asked by a Channel 7 reporter why he responded to news that an Australian solider Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney had been killed in action in Afghanistan with “It’s pretty obvious that, well, sometimes shit happens, doesn’t it?”
Anyway, it’s just nice to see Tony going out and moving awkwardly among people again.