- Anthony Albanese sent a message to the Australian Olympic team
- The Prime Minister sent a video message to a handful of stars in Paris
- But people say the same thing about interaction.
Anthony Albanese has received criticism from the public after sharing a video call he had with the Australian Olympic team.
Albanese posted the two-minute clip to his X account on Tuesday, in which he congratulated Kyle Chalmers, Shayna Jack and Caitlin Parker for their incredible performances in Paris.
“Hello everyone, greetings from Australia,” he said.
“You have brought so much pleasure, excitement and pride to the whole country. Well done to everyone.”
He also shared that he has been waking up early with his dog Toto to catch all the action in France.
But Australians were not impressed with this “publicity stunt” and described the interaction as “embarrassing”.
“It’s not as embarrassing as watching you dance at a Taylor Swift concert, but it’s pretty close,” one person said on X.
“He always does it about himself,” said a second X user.
Anthony Albanese has been criticised for his video call to Australian Olympic stars
A third person posted: “We are proud of them but we don’t care about you, the country is falling apart. Focus on fixing it instead of engaging in all these publicity stunts.”
“Worst prime minister ever,” said a fourth person. “Stop embarrassing the nation.”
A fifth social media user said: “I just threw up in my mouth.”
Albanese’s message came after he raised Australia’s terror threat level from possible to probable due to an increased risk of politically motivated violence.
While it has not been raised due to a specific incident, it is understood there have been eight incidents in Australia investigated by security officials for alleged terrorism or possible terrorist links.
The Middle East conflict is also understood to have exacerbated security agencies’ concerns about politically motivated violence in Australia, although it is not the direct cause of the increased threat level.
This is the first time the threat level has been raised since 2014, during the height of threats from the Islamic State terrorist group.
Premier Anthony Albanese said the national security committee met on Monday morning to discuss the change.
“Likely does not mean inevitable and it does not mean there is information about an imminent threat or danger,” Albanese told reporters in Canberra.
“But the advice we’ve received is that more Australians are embracing a more diverse range of extreme ideologies.”