Karl Stefanovic joked that Bob Hawke might not have gone to heaven after Anthony Albanese said the former prime minister was “belittling” him during his campaign.
The Labor leader joined Today on Thursday morning, two days before the election, and was asked about comments John Howard made about his “thin” policies.
Albanese has admitted in the past that he was supportive of Howard’s tenure as Australian prime minister, and Karl asked him if his comments hurt him.
Karl Stefanovic joked that Bob Hawke might not have gone to heaven after Anthony Albanese said the former prime minister was “belittling” him during his campaign.
‘John Howard supports the Liberal Party. You know what would be strange, Karl? If John Howard backed the Labor Party,’ the Labor leader responded.
‘Paul Keating supports the Labor Party. Julia Gillard supports the Labor Party. Kevin Rudd supports the Labor Party, and Bob Hawkes, I must say, up there, looks down and also supports the Labor Party.
‘Are you sure he’s looking down?’ Karl responded before bursting into laughter. “He was a bit of a scoundrel.”
Albanese said “Hawkey was a legend” with a smile, calling the popular leader a “mentor.”
Earlier this year, Blanche d’Alpuget revealed that Hawke was a sex addict who had four affairs while prime minister.
Former Tourism Minister John Brown also recalled how Hawke “constantly” pursued women and was not remotely discreet, according to exceptions to the book seen by The Australian.
Former union secretary Bill Kelty, who worked with Hawke at the Australian Council of Trade Unions, said the politician routinely slept with women during drunken binges that lasted into the early hours of the morning.
“Bob would drink, fuck someone and play until 2.30 or 3.30 in the morning, and then when the ACTU executive started at 9 in the morning, he would be the second one to arrive and he would be fine,” Mr Kelty recalled.
Hawke gave up alcohol during his leadership despite being a heavy drinker in his union days.
The Labor leader has previously said he would pursue economic reform similar to Howards, admitting he was an admirer of the former prime minister’s leadership during his tenure.
The pair appear to have a mutual respect for each other, and Howard came to his defense early in the campaign after Albanese failed to respond when asked about the country’s unemployment rate.
‘Anthony Albanese didn’t know about unemployment, so what?’ Howard said during a Liberal Party event in Perth.
Albanese said “Hawkey was a legend” with a smile and called the popular leader a “mentor.”
The bipartisan recognition has been reassuring to voters, but has raised questions from the Coalition and some in the media.
Karl asked the Labor leader about his comments early in the campaign about the former Liberal prime minister and said he admitted he wanted to “govern in the mold of John Howard”.
‘I actually didn’t say that at all, but anyway… I didn’t say that at all. Don’t believe everything you read in the newspaper headlines,” Mr. Albanese responded.
‘No, what I said was that John Howard was someone who, even if he didn’t agree with everything he did, he did it, previous Liberal governments had economic reforms, this government doesn’t have an economic reform agenda.
Karl responded with comments Wednesday in which Howard said he didn’t think Albanese was “up to the job.”
“I don’t find in this election the same interest in Mr Albanese as an alternative prime minister that I saw in Mr Rudd’s interest as an alternative prime minister,” Howard said at a campaign event for controversial Warringah candidate Katherine on Wednesday. Deves.
Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke died in 2019 after a brief illness
‘I didn’t like that interest, of course, but people were thinking about a change in 2007. And they took a look at Mr Rudd and for a combination of reasons they decided on him.
“They don’t look at Mr Albanese in the same way… I find a marked lack of interest in Mr Albanese as an alternative prime minister, there is a growing feeling in the community that he is not up to the job.”
Karl continued to focus on the comments and asked the Labor leader what he thought of them.
‘He said there is a growing feeling in the community that you are not measuring up. Did that hurt you, coming from this political legend? the Today host prompted.
-That? Does John Howard support the Liberal Party? You know what would be strange, Karl? “If John Howard supported the Labor Party,” Mr Albanese replied.
‘No, but that was very personal, wasn’t it?’ Karl responded.
‘That would be really strange. “That would be really strange, Karl,” the Labor leader added.