EDITORIAL: Albo in wonderland amid Coalition’s crazy capers

If ever there was a moment when the phrase “a picture paints a thousand words” was apt in relation to Anthony Albanese, it was on Monday.

The Prime Minister was on cloud nine as he walked into Federal Labor’s party room to be greeted by grinning, standing and applauding party members.

It seemed like it was all he could do to restrain himself from punching the air in triumph before he made multiple jabs at his opponents’ leadership and Coalition confusion. Hubris anyone?

It was a surreal moment.

Could this really be the welcome for the bloke who looked completely out of his depth in the wake of the Bondi massacre? Who seemed almost frozen?

Who had pivoted immediately to a political response, grabbing at the idea of gun law reform, an issue which is always virtually guaranteed to wedge the Coalition parties.

Who was booed when he finally visited the Bondi scene amid raw anger over the bloody consequences of the rampant anti-Semitism which had for more than two years been allowed to poison Australian society.

Who had deflected and denied and offered up lame excuses as to why there was no need for a royal commission to get to the bottom of what had happened — before caving in and somehow making it sound like it was something which the Government had always been working on.

Could it really be just more than six weeks between the Bondi tragedy and the swaggering Albo who took to the leader’s lectern?

Extraordinary.

And part of the reason was playing out in meeting rooms around the Parliament.

The Nationals, out on their own after a dummy spit took them out of the Coalition, met to deal with a leadership spill motion brought on by Colin Who, er sorry, Colin Boyce.

Not surprisingly the spill motion failed, leaving in place David Littleproud, who had effectively declared amid the Nationals’ walk-out last month that the Coalition was off while Sussan Ley led the Liberals.

Mr Littleproud had also demanded that before there was any reunification of the Coalition, the Liberals would have to agree to reappoint the three Nationals senators who crossed the floor last month and broke cabinet solidarity, leading to the split.

The advocates for a restored Coalition among the two parties had managed to set up an expected new round of talks between the party leaders and key members on Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile Ms Ley’s supporters have been busy hosing down suggestions of a challenge to her leadership, even amid an ongoing frenzy about the intentions of Angus Taylor after the other touted option Andrew Hastie said on Friday he wouldn’t contest the leadership.

And out in the real world, Australian homebuyers are expected to be hit with an interest rate rise as soon as Tuesday as the Reserve Bank tries to fight back against inflation — which many economists link to Government spending injecting too much heat into the economy.

And Albo remains in Wonderland.

Responsibility for the editorial comment is taken by Editor-in-Chief Christopher Dore.