A new book about Tony Abbott will be on the shelves of bookstores tomorrow. (read comments on the article at your own peril)
The new polemic by academic [Dr] Susan Mitchell paints an intensely unflattering portrait of the man who would be Australia’s next prime minister, sketching Mr Abbott as a graceless, obsessively competitive ”man’s man”; a ferocious partisan imbued with conservative Catholic social values.
article in SMH 30.9.11 byline Katharine Murphy
But the question is, will this change the public’s mind, or will she be dismissed as just another shrill feminist or labor stooge?
I am not familiar with Dr Mitchell’s body of work, but after reading this bio I think I might just seek some of her stuff out.
The featured image is from here.
Categories: culture wars, media, parties and factions
QOTD: on the blaming of progressive scolds/shamers for the rise of Trumpists 
QOTD: @DigbyParton on who Americans trust less than politicians 
Media Circus: Parliament Resumes Edition 
96th Down Under Feminists Carnival 
Hoyden About Town 
I don’t think it will. If he had written a book himself it would be different – people would analyse his version of events and self-image. Dr Mitchell will probably be cast as someone seeking to rain on his possibly prime-ministerial parade (*shudder*), or “out to get him”.
..but she sounds awesome, just the same.
The book’s very good.
My favourite part (and by favourite, I mean most loathesome) was where his wife was in labour with their first child and he “forgot” to help her with breathing exercises like they’d practised, and instead read a book on military strategy and then watched the rugby on TV.
Rebekka, when I read that just now I was not in the least surprised – it’s merely a more extreme example of the callous selfishness I have come to expect from him regarding anyone else’s struggles.
His wife must have a really excellent social support network to have helped her raise those children. Abbott must have been as much use as a chocolate teapot.
‘Let’s make no mistake. Abbott is a social conservative, a homophobe, a misogynist, a family first racist, a warmonger and a neoliberal. But so too is Julia Gillard.’
Attacking Abbott – the politics of despair http://enpassant.com.au/?p=11193
Well John, I suppose to a guy they would seem just as misogynist as each other but I’ll take my chances with Gillard’s “misogyny” over Abbott’s any day and so would every woman I know. But if you are claiming “misogyny” on the basis that Gillard’s government do not support the equal pay campaign for SACS workers (and that’s how it appears from your blog post) then you’re on thin ice because that’s not true. The only government refusing to support us now is the NSW state government.