Quarterly Essay 47 Political Animal: The Making Of Tony Abbott (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
I think David Marr is a great researcher and tries very hard to be be fair and balanced in his approach in this book. He tells Tony Abbott's story in an easily comprehensible and capable manner, leaving plenty of space for the reader to draw their own conclusions. The two Tony's is a neat way to try and present the two versions of the man Marr shows us. It reminds us, of course , of the questions re the REAL Julia.Having read this first, followed by several articles in The Age and several reviews I must say I do believe the wall punching incident and that really worries me. I think men who punch walls beside women's heads clearly want to punch the woman, if they dared. Calling the same woman Chair thing for a year seems to show an ongoing disrespect. I know a little about University politics and I think it does matter the way we behave throughout our lives, particularly if their are clear patterns which do not seem to change. The pugilist, sexist, mysogynistic young man has little changed over the years. Also, the same pattern of failing to compromise and build alliances, plus his overwhelming negativity - wanting to destroy structures rather than following due process - is interesting. His vile activities against student unionism stand today as a dreadful indicator of the real Tony Abbott to me.Margie, his daughters and sisters may all love him and think he's great, why wouldn't they?. But I'm not so sure. In the 30th June 2012 quote which starts the book, Tony Abbott invites us to look at "the record of a lifetime", to examine "the student president, trainee priest, Rhodes scholar..." etc, because in this record we are meant to see his "instinct to serve ingrained long before..." he "...became opposition leader". He asks us to judge him and our trust of him on this record. Well I've examined it and I urge every Australian eligible to vote to read this book because I think it shows us elements of Tony Abbott which should make us very wary to ever see him become PM of Australia.As a woman, feminist and atheist I already admit to being convinced he puts his muscular, fundamentalist religious beliefs even before his political party - I'm sure he confers with Pell on a regular basis. I think it is likely he is a Catholic Warrior locked into Santamaria's views of the world. Abbott wants to control women's bodies, he's anti-women in powerful positions (despite his protestations)homophobic etc. I am sure he cares about all kinds of people and may well be charitable, generous-hearted and even kind to the "poor and needy". I wish we had heard everything - even the bits Abbott did not want revealed - itmay have balanced the picture even more.But overall I think he is a dangerous, aggressive, angry man who wants power for its own sake - possibly to finally prove his mother was right - either Pope or PM! Although not as great an essay as the one he wrote on Rudd, Marr's Quarterly Essay on Tony Abbott nonetheless highlights his brilliance as a writer and journalist.Some reviews have suggested that this is not a polemical essay, however I disagree. Marr is too fine a writer to waste twenty thousand words ripping shreds off Abbott. Although he takes a more subtle approach, he does, in his own brilliant way, rip shreds off Abbott. And we the reader are all the better for it.
What do You think about Quarterly Essay 47 Political Animal: The Making Of Tony Abbott (2012)?
The first Quarterly I've read that I could consider suspenseful.
—kesha101
Some hyperbolic writing, some insights, but not a full picture
—lizzy
Well written and an in depth insight to the Liberal Leader.
—sweetdulce
