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Tony Abbott: The Mad Monk

He is a bundle of contradictions, evoking fierce criticism from his political opponents. 
SANDHYA RAVISHANKAR profiles Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott

There are many monikers tacked on to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott including ‘Mad Monk’, ‘Tear-Down Tony’ and the ‘Aggressive Terrier’. Abbott is seen by many as a hardline right-winger, conservative and an Anglophile.

Tony Abbott is a caricaturist’s dream. Staunchly Catholic, aggressively political and a champion of Aborigine rights, Abbott is also flexible, often uncharitably dubbed a ‘chameleon’. His latest stand on energy is indicative of why he has earned that particular nickname. In June this year, Abbott shook hands with US President Barack Obama on climate change and told Obama that he (Abbott) was a ‘conservationist’ when it came to environmental issues. Barely four months later, Abbott did a somersault, hailing coal as being “good for humanity”. As recently as the G-20 meet hosted by him, Abbott informed global leaders that he was “standing up for coal”.

U-turns are not new to Abbott. In 2005, he tried to block legislation for the abortion pill RU-486 but failed, saying he was opposed to the idea of abortion. Subsequently he backtracked on his stand, promising not to amend abortion laws if he came to power.

In 2010, Abbott would remark that homosexuality made him feel a “bit threatened”. When he came under fire for the comment, Abbott apologised. In the aftermath of a hung 2010 Australian Parliament, Abbott agreed to a pairing arrangement in the hope of forming a minority government. When it seemed that the Labour Party would form government, Abbott backed out of the deal agreed upon and proceeded to lead a vicious Opposition.

Tony Abbott’s personal and political views have often been poorly received by women voters. Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Guillard, in fact in Parliament, famously slammed Abbott for his views of women’s sexuality, terming him a ‘misogynist’. He is also an Anglophile, one of the most vocal voices arguing for the continuation of the Constitutional Monarchy in the island nation. A high decibel Thatcherite when in Oxford, Abbott continues to evoke her style of leadership.

Born to an English father Richard ‘Dick’ Abbott and an Australian mother Fay Peters, young Tony’s first memory is of a steamship from London, his birthplace, to Australia, when the family relocated in the early 1960s. Tony Abbott was schooled in Jesuit schools and went on to graduate as a Bachelor of Law and a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney. His country of birth beckoned and he moved to England as a Rhodes Scholar to attend Queen’s College in Oxford. In 1983, he graduated from Oxford as a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Six years later, Abbott completed his Masters in the same field. Abbott played rugby and boxed too for Oxford.

A Rhodes Scholar is usually schooled for a career in politics but in contrast to his days in Sydney as a firebrand leader of a right-wing student union, Abbott, on his return to Australia curiously opted to become a priest. In 1987, Abbott joined a seminary as a trainee priest. By his own admission, “a square peg in a round hole,” Abbott left behind his priestly dreams three years later. Marriage, children and a brief stint in journalism followed, with Abbott writing for ‘The Australian’ and ‘The Bulletin’. Midway through this, he briefly ran a concrete plant and later began to dabble in politics. Abbott shone in his new role, writing policy papers, helping create campaigns on issues and worked closely with former Australian Prime Minister John Howard, successfully helping him firefight controversies like the Mediclaim issue with doctors.

Abbott has displayed an amazing ability to tide over personal controversies and scandals. When he was 19, his then-girlfriend became pregnant. Both of them decided to have the child and put him up for adoption. 27 years later, in 2004, their son sought out his birth mother and media attention was focused on Abbott’s “illegitimate” child. Subsequent DNA tests though proved that Abbott was in reality, not the father of the boy.

In the run-up to the 2013 election, Abbott was at the centre of a storm over his comments on a woman candidate. His public gaffe, praising Fiona Scott for her “sex appeal” was denounced widely, even by his own daughters. Abbott though was unfazed. He told the media that his daughters had sounded him off on his remark and said he may have been “a bit exuberant” in his description of Scott.

Abbott now faces a series of challenges at home and abroad — from climate change issues which will crop up again in 2015 at the Paris convention to problems of looming unemployment at home as the world economy once again dips. His flexibility will now be of more use than ever in his tumultuous career.

KT illustration by A U Santhoshkumar