Memo to Tony and Kevin: no sex please, we're voters | The Australian
There's a bit of new gossip about our political leaders and their attitudes towards sex and women in this article. I think its take on both the uptight PM and the too-loose lips of the Opposition Leader seems about right.
It notes that in Abbott's case, Glenn Milne indicated on Insiders that Abbott's use of "feeling threatened"by homosexuality arose out of a specific incident during his time at the seminary. In last night's Four Corners, someone mentioned that the seminary not having a "virile" enough environment for him. With these hints, I'm now curious as to what did happen: was it a one off incident that offended him, or was the problem more of a general quiet tolerance of homosexual activity by one of more priests or seminarians? If it is the former, I guess most people would think it's a minor matter in the past; if the latter, it does actually involve big questions about sexuality, the priesthood and how the church deals with it.
I see that Abbott finally took the line in Four Corners that he had had "many" gay friends. It sure took him a long time to realise that this is one way for a politician to try to defuse the issue about personal feelings about homosexuality.
But, as virtually every commentator in the land agrees, he mainly just has to find a way to gracefully stop answering questions he doesn't want to.
There's a bit of new gossip about our political leaders and their attitudes towards sex and women in this article. I think its take on both the uptight PM and the too-loose lips of the Opposition Leader seems about right.
It notes that in Abbott's case, Glenn Milne indicated on Insiders that Abbott's use of "feeling threatened"by homosexuality arose out of a specific incident during his time at the seminary. In last night's Four Corners, someone mentioned that the seminary not having a "virile" enough environment for him. With these hints, I'm now curious as to what did happen: was it a one off incident that offended him, or was the problem more of a general quiet tolerance of homosexual activity by one of more priests or seminarians? If it is the former, I guess most people would think it's a minor matter in the past; if the latter, it does actually involve big questions about sexuality, the priesthood and how the church deals with it.
I see that Abbott finally took the line in Four Corners that he had had "many" gay friends. It sure took him a long time to realise that this is one way for a politician to try to defuse the issue about personal feelings about homosexuality.
But, as virtually every commentator in the land agrees, he mainly just has to find a way to gracefully stop answering questions he doesn't want to.
steve
ReplyDeleteif you pick up the last issue of the Monthly with the profile of Abbott by Louis Nowra he notes that Abbott found the environment of the seminary he entered flamboyantly gay.
I wonder what exactly he means by that? If it was a Church of England seminary, I could understand it entirely :P
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