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There's some other funny Abbott stories. Just after he entered parliament way back in the early 90s the PM of the day the delightfully acerbic Paul Keating famously called him a "young fogey". 

 

Also when he entered Parliament the Liberals (conservatives) were in opposition and there was a push from the ultra conservatives to get rid of their then leader (later PM) John Howard who was lagging in the opinion polls. For a time the front runner was the elaborately coiffed Bronwyn Bishop who made Maggie Thatcher look like devout socialist. At the time Abbott was just an ordinary opposition MP and somehow he got drawn into the ongoing debate - he famously remarked in an attempt to prove his conservative credentials that he "was the love-child of John Howard and Bronwyn Bishop" which didn't go down all that well with both of them but continued to haunt him. 

 

About ten years later after Howard had become PM, Abbott was Minister for Health. A brick layer from Sydney was widely reported as saying that his mother had told him that Abbott was his father - the result of a fling when both were at the University of Sydney. Naturally the press leapt on this and to quell the rumours and the damage to his career a DNA test was done which proved that he wasn't. Obviously young Tones had put it about then and the only real proof had to be real proof :rolleyes:

 

But then I got peripherally involved (really peripherally ;)). At the time I was serving on a Federal Government Ministerial advisory committee in my day job, and we were all summoned to attend a meeting with the Minister (not Abbott) in the Ministerial wing of our federal parliament. One of our party was an inveterate networker. So there we are being led down the corridors of power by a Ministerial staffer when as we passed Abbott's office he happened to emerge. The inveterate networker couldn't resist the opportunity to talk to Abbott and as he turned back to talk to him I said in a less than soft voice "bloody hell it's his long-lost father" to which I copped the death stare from Abbott ..... :angry:  

 

The other famous story is that about a year after he became PM he was at a record low in the opinion polls. So a spill was called in the Liberal Caucus - no one stood against him as his arch enemy Malcolm Turnbull (who did replace him 6 months later) wasn't ready to run. But Abbott only got 65% of the vote which meant that 35% of the Liberal Party MPs just couldn't even be bothered voting to support him.

 

I'm sure Tones and Bojo will get along famously.         

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It just crossed my mind that in addition to sharing his forename and sticky out ears, Mr Abbot has a slight facial resemblance to our unlamented former PM, Tony Blair...

 

10 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

All in all, You're welcome to him back (he was born in the UK..).

 

 

 

And that he was born in the UK...

 

No. Doesn't bear thinking about.

 

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10 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

are you suggesting that he will initiate a change in our negotiating position?


What is our negotiating strategy?

 

I may have misunderstood (not surprising since nobody explained it cogently), but it seems to me to amount to: give us what we want, or else we’ll do all sorts of things that harm us more than they’ll harm you.

 

The bargaining-chip we had up our sleeve, to leave the EU, thereby threatening ‘The Project’ and weakening Europe’s position vis-a-vis Russia, The US etc, we already exercised, so it’s a bit late for that one.

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40 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

What is our negotiating strategy?

 

@nick_bastable said:

 

11 hours ago, nick_bastable said:

we are already ....

 

 

which suggests our current negotiating position.

 

Re. the rumoured new negotiator, he said:

 

11 hours ago, nick_bastable said:

so what another ...

 

 

which suggested a change of position.

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On 28/08/2020 at 06:43, Nearholmer said:

Ah, but you misunderstand: The New Leadership is all about dividing a country against itself; that’s how it’s done now.

Also how it was done in right-wing states during the 20s, 30s and 40s...

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On 28/08/2020 at 08:39, Nearholmer said:


What is our negotiating strategy?

 

I may have misunderstood (not surprising since nobody explained it cogently), but it seems to me to amount to: give us what we want, or else we’ll do all sorts of things that harm us more than they’ll harm you.

 

The bargaining-chip we had up our sleeve, to leave the EU, thereby threatening ‘The Project’ and weakening Europe’s position vis-a-vis Russia, The US etc, we already exercised, so it’s a bit late for that one.

 

Our negotiating strategy?

 

I guess that would to not be seen to be begging for mates rates, WTO rules ok.

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50 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

Cf. The Dam Busters.

 

There's to be an alleged remake of The Dam Busters. Gibsons batman will have to run around shouting "Digger, Digger!"

 

It sounds like "Dottingham" in the Tunes advert....

 

In his second attempt to by his ticket, he flashes what appears to be a green banknote. A second class return to Nottingham for less than a pound?  Good value for the mid-80s!

 

Edited by Hroth
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30 minutes ago, Hroth said:

There's to be an alleged remake of The Dam Busters. Gibsons batman will have to run around shouting "Digger, Digger!"

They'd better not release it over here then...

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17 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

There's to be an alleged remake of The Dam Busters. Gibsons batman will have to run around shouting "Digger, Digger!"

 

It sounds like "Dottingham" in the Tunes advert....

 

In his second attempt to by his ticket, he flashes what appears to be a green banknote. A second class return to Nottingham for less than a pound?  Good value for the mid-80s!

 

 

In the early 80s I could get a day return from Coventry to Rugby for 76p.

 

Adrian

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18 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

They'd better not release it over here then...

They'll probably digitise the whole thing anyway;  one flyable Lancaster does not a movie make!  Besides, they wouldn't want anything happen to it, otherwise no flyovers!

     Brian.

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