John Menadue

Murdoch takes Abbott as his guest to President's banquet in US.

According to a report on Media Watch on 8 February, Rupert Murdoch brought Tony Abbott as his guest at a banquet in Washington which President Obama attended.

Several of the Murdoch papers in Australia suggested that this was a personal meeting between Tony Abbott and President Obama. It was nothing of the sort. It was a cocktail party and lunch attended by 100 guests and presumably President Obama shook Tony Abbott’s hand, but it seems it was nothing more than that.

It says something about Murdoch’s political judgement that he took an ex prime minister to this lunch.  Surely he would have known that inviting tony Abbott as his guest would likely antagonise Prime Minister Turnbull. Or was that his intention?

In any event, it was a beat-up from beginning to end.

See link to Media Watch below:

http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s4402700.htm

The views expressed in this article may or may not reflect those of Pearls and Irritations.

John Menadue

John Menadue is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Pearls and Irritations. He was formerly Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet under Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser, Ambassador to Japan, Secretary of the Department of Immigration and CEO of Qantas.

Please support Pearls and Irritations with your tax deductible donation

This year, Pearls and Irritations has again proven that independent media has never been more essential.
The integrity of our media matters - please support Pearls and Irritations.
For the next month you can make a tax deductible donation through the Australian Cultural Fund. Please click here to donate.