Anthony Albanese at the event on 25 February, where he described Grace Tame as “difficult”. Image Screenshot
Anthony Albanese isn’t a misogynist – he’s just too gullible for his own good if he thinks agreeing to rapid-fire, word association games in front of cameras and microphones is ever going to turn out well for him.
Such Q&As are “gotcha” moments waiting to happen, and the Prime Minister walked right into one and delivered on cue.
Never one to shy away from a challenge, or a media opportunity he thinks will make him look like a fun guy, the PM singlehandedly ruined his whole week on Wednesday (25 February) with one word – “difficult”.
Difficult is the best way to describe the position he found himself in when asked to use one word to describe former Australian of the Year, Grace Tame.
Maybe that’s how Albo could have tried to explain his gaffe. He could have said he used the word “difficult” in reference to the question, as in, too difficult to answer.
Or perhaps, even better, he should have just owned up to saying the wrong thing under pressure and apologised unreservedly to Ms Tame.
But following a social media backlash, including most strenuously from Ms Tame herself, noting that “difficult” is a word misogynists use to describe a woman who won’t comply, the PM offered up a qualified apology – and a sloppy attempt at explaining his way out of the predicament.
Here’s what he said when asked the next day if he regretted using the word.
“No. I was at a forum. I was asked to describe people in one word. And Grace Tame, you certainly can’t describe in one word,” the Prime Minister said during a doorstep interview on Thursday.
“She has had a difficult life, and that was what I was referring to. And what Grace Tame has done is to turn that difficult experience that she had into being a strong advocate for others, which is why she received, quite rightly, the Australian of the Year Award … If there was any misinterpretation then I certainly apologise.
“I think that Grace Tame has taken what is personal trauma and that awful experience that she had and channelled that into helping, in particular, other young women, being a strong and powerful advocate, being quite courageous in the way that she has gone out there.
“Now, there are other issues, such as the language that Grace Tame used, that I disagreed with, at the demonstration that was held in Sydney.
“So, that’s why it’s impossible to describe people in one word. And that wasn’t meant to be taken that way.
“It was certainly just a word that comes to mind when different people are mentioned. And Grace Tame has had a very difficult life, but she deserves great credit for turning that into a benefit for others.”
Ms Tame’s language, to which Mr Albanese was referring, was her leading a chant “from Gadigal to Gaza, globalise the intifada” at a pro-Palestine rally on the steps of the Sydney Town Hall earlier this month.
Some have called for Ms Tame to be stripped of her Australian of the Year over her use of those words. Others are labelling her a hero.
The phrase is widely viewed as a call to violence, so how could the Prime Minister agree with that?
He didn’t condemn her for the chant at the time, but instead gave the general observation that “we need to not continually look for political opportunities”.
He was also reasonably tempered when asked to comment last year about Ms Tame’s decision to wear a T-shirt that said “F*%ck Murdoch” to an Australian of the Year event.
He simply said it took attention away from what the day should be about.
The Prime Minister is no doubt kicking himself for using the “difficult” word in reference to Ms Tame this week. Not that he will admit it.
He wishes he had used the word “powerhouse”, as he has done in the past, to describe her.
Albo will also be mortified that Ms Tame has now assigned the misogynist tag to him and mocked his half-apology as a cop out and cowardly.
Worse even, she’s put him in the same category as Scott Morrison.
The PM’s choice of word on Wednesday was stupid and wrong, but it is unfair to use it as evidence of misogyny.
Mr Albanese leads a government that is unashamedly pro-women – and more power to that.
Environment Minister Murray Watt perhaps said it best when asked to comment on the issue on Thursday.
“I think any honest observer of the Prime Minister’s actions knows that he has been a fierce advocate for the rights of women in Australia and has made immeasurable change to the lives of Australian women,” he said.
“In every single possible way, this Prime Minister has led the charge to ensure that Australian women are respected and are supported.”
But here’s the take-home message for the PM from his cabinet colleague: “I think it shows the traps for all of us in participating in these kinds of one-word games that some media outlets like to participate in.”
