Tony Abbott Is Reportedly Trying To Convince Alan Jones To Enter Politics
Please, no.
Just when you thought Australian politics couldn’t possibly become more of a shit show, a bunch of senior conservative Liberals are reportedly trying to convince Alan Jones to take a shot at federal politics.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the controversial broadcaster who was dropped from his radio job at 2GB, and — more recently — his TV gig on Sky News, has been repeatedly asked to consider a political career.
For those unfamiliar with Jones, he has asserted that the Stolen Generation children were taken for their own good, claimed Julia Gillard’s father “died of shame” and repeatedly denied the existence of climate change, among countless other problematic things.
Reports claim one of the key players spearheading the Jones for politics movement is none other than Tony Abbott, with a number of other conservative Liberals also backing the call.
Jones has reportedly been offered “nearly everything” from a NSW Upper House seat to a place in the Senate in an attempt to sweeten the deal. Calls to enter politics came as recently as last Friday, where he was asked if he’d throw his hat in the ring at a lunch held in his honour at Parliament House.
If Jones actually does take a shot at Federal politics, it is believed he’d run in Warringah — the same seat that former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has also been rumoured to be eyeing off. It’s worth noting that Berejiklian is still very much in the middle of a messy ICAC investigation, so the timing would seem somewhat premature but not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
“I think it’s probably a bit difficult before a judgement is handed down, we must be respectful of ICAC … but we keep all options open,” Liberal Party federal vice-president Teena McQueen told Ben Fordham on 2GB, adding that she thinks Jones’ political hopes are “a long shot.”
Nominations for the seat of Warringah were set to close on December 3, but the deadline was extended until January 14 in order to give Berejiklian time to decide if she will run or not.
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