This media merry-go-round, fed by the pollies but enabled by the journos, is getting ridiculous.
Up until Rudd left for Japan, the pattern went like this:
- Liberal pollies or right-wing pundits (Piers et al.) claim that Japan are worried and offended by Rudd’s mishandling of the Australia-Japan relationship, and that his close ties to China are contributing to the strain.
- The traditional media adopts a generalised and unattributed manner of reporting that it “is understood” that Japanese officials are concerned.
- Rudd is asked about these purported tensions and defends his approach to foreign relations.
So, now that Rudd is in Japan, what’s in the news tonight?
Fifty-nine days out from the Beijing Olympics, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is still refusing to say if he will attend.
It is a chance for Mr Rudd to support Australian athletes at the Games, but on the eve of the Dalai Lama’s arrival in Australia, he is facing an increasingly difficult political situation, refusing to say if he will go.
“We’re still sorting out a few things on that,” Mr Rudd said when pressed on the issue.
The Federal Opposition says it is simple – that bilateral interests come first.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Andrew Robb says he thinks Mr Rudd should attend.
“I don’t understand all the equivocation. It seems a bit tricky to me,” he said.
Mr Rudd has always ruled out a boycott of the games.
But until he officially accepts the invitation to attend, the perception remains that Mr Rudd is avoiding a decision on what is set to be the most politically charged games in decades.
…
Mr Rudd’s office is adamant he has not made a final decision, and the ABC understands that is causing growing anxiety in Olympic circles.
So, Rudd has “always ruled out a boycott”, but report suggests that his failure to confirm his attendance creates a perception that he is looking for a way out. Could it be possible that he might be considering whether he could be engaged in other activities,such as governing, that would be of greater benefit to the Australian people than being in the grandstands to “support Australian athletes”?
And once again, “the ABC understands” there is “growing anxiety in Olympic circles” about the fact that Rudd has not made a decision. On what basis do they “understand” that? Apart from Rudd, the only quotations in the piece are attributed to Andrew Robb and Bob Brown. In the absence of evidence to substantiate their claims, it looks like the media are once again swallowing the Opposition’s claims that there is concern and regurgitating it as accepted wisdom.
