Larvatus Prodeo

There’s an interesting paradox about Kevin Rudd’s personality which has come to light in recent days, in the wake of the furore over a series of leaks early last week. It’s this - that like a number of other PMs in the past, Kevin Rudd has a temper and can be a bastard to work for. What’s surprising about that? It certainly would be no surprise to a lot of people who worked in the Queensland public sector in the Goss era. Is it surprising more generally? Perhaps not - political leadership attracts certain personality types. But, writing in the Fin yesterday, Laura Tingle made the excellent point that with Bob Hawke and Paul Keating, that aspect of their personality was on show. Hawke in particular wasn’t shy of revealing his emotions in public, but although Paul Keating certainly wanted to keep his private self private, anger, joy, frustration and withering contempt were on display for all to see from both men. It was part of the package, and people made judgements knowing that.

There might be an element of truth to the criticisms made during last year’s never ending election campaign - Kevin Rudd wasn’t “well known” to the Australian public. That doesn’t just go to how long he’d been in Parliament - something John Howard apparently believed would work against him - but the way in which he’d created a (winning) public persona for himself - through light and breezy appearances on breakfast tv. There’s no doubt Rudd works hard to project a sometimes self-deprecating and generally likeable persona, but to some degree that is a persona that is an artefact of the theatre of political communication. As I noted when reviewing Nicholas Stuart’s biography of the then opposition leader last year, Rudd is someone who will move heaven and earth to do anything it takes to get him where he wants to go - and that includes adopting a more jovial persona with more of a common touch - he’d never make the mistake he made in 1996 of doorknocking ALP branch members on State of Origin night twice.

Now, in terms of the criticism of the pace he imposes on those who work for him, I think there’s a lot of validity in them. It may well be that senior public servants shouldn’t shy away from 7am meetings, but it’s not just senior public servants we’re talking about here - it’s those way down the ranks who are in effect being asked to act as departmental desk officers and be at work at 6am to answer inquiries from Rudd’s office - where the first stirrings of activity begin at 4am. Nobody functions optimally under constant stress, and the health implications of overwork are real.

Continue reading ‘Kevin 24/7: Born to run’