I was watching Annabel Crabb's very entertaining show with Bob Hawke last night, and it left me wondering about the string of Labor Prime Ministers we've had with very big egos.
Whitlam, Hawke, Keating and Rudd - all big ego men, and none of whom I found especially likeable personalities. Julia Gillard genuinely broke the ego mould, and this has a lot to do with my regard for her. But Beazley was also OK in this respect, and it helps explain why he never made it to PM.
Of other Labor Opposition Leaders who didn't make it: not sure how I would categorise Simon Crean, and Mark Latham is just rather generally oddball.
The Liberals don't seem to suffer from this to the same extent, with the exception of Turnbull, perhaps. Yet for me he manages the trick of having a very high self regard but retaining likeability. His eulogy yesterday in Parliament for Gough was a fantastic example of his very endearing ability to engagingly speak off the cuff with great charity towards everyone:
As for Howard, his modest demeanour was always his most endearing feature.
But going back to Fraser, I remember being told by someone who was a former Liberal staffer in Canberra that at the time he acquired the leadership he was shaking like a leaf. So it appears he gave off an arrogant air, but covering a modest ego.
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