When do politicians stop talking about domestic affairs and foreign policy, and instead talk about sex? Australian Prime Minister Albenes provides us with an example to answer this question.
In a recent podcast interview titled “Bush Deep,” in response to a question from the female host Osborne, Alabiner said he would be willing to have sex with actress Kelly Rohm, marry her, and date her. “I’d be happy to do all of those things; she’s amazing.”
Albanes, who has been married for just half a year, even openly talked about his sexual life with his wife Jodie Hayton. He said that they would have sex "after football games," and the victory of the Central Sydney Rabbit team in the football league was a "great aphrodisiac."
He even started telling some offensive jokes about Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Kuroki, mentioning that she once gave him a “pair” of melons. As he spoke about the melons, Albinas made gestures with his hands in front of his chest, and said to the female host, “She brought two of them, just like you… they’re very beautiful.”
Seeing this scene, Koike Yukiho will surely regret sending him the melons back then.
Public opinion was shocked. Seeing the prime minister, who often appeared politically correct, utter a series of vulgar statements, Australian feminists were furious.
"This is a more casual interview style, originally intended to showcase the likeability of a political figure. Is this considered likeable? Jacqueline Marely, columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald, said, "At least for women like myself who identify as feminist 'moral guardians,' it's not. It just further reinforces the weary confirmation: reality hasn't changed as much as we hoped."
Eating and drinking among men and women is understandable. Politicians are also human beings, but discussing "the lower ranks" in such an undisguised manner still attracts attention.
Under Albinis leadership, the Labour Party fell into silence, with several opposition party members speaking out to criticize.
Liberal politician Aaron Viollie said, “The Prime Minister believes it is appropriate to discuss Kelly Malloo or his own private life in that way, which fully reflects his character.” Senator Sarah Henderson criticized Albonis for being ‘disrespectful of women, embarrassing for Australians, and undermining the dignity of the Prime Minister’s position.’
After criticism arose, discussions about why Albarn would make these remarks began to heat up.
Australian former Deputy Prime Minister and MP for the One Nation Party, Barnaby Joyce, said Albornis had fallen into a ‘trap’. ‘I won’t criticize him too harshly. He just fell into a trap that he shouldn’t have fallen into.’
Australia's political culture has always been more casual than that of the UK, even compared to the US. The British magazine "The Spectator" said that in interviews, Albornes was not only witty in response, but also showed a spirit of willingness to mock himself. "However, the more relaxed he was, the deeper he pushed himself into trouble."
So, is the podcast host the one who sets the traps?
Ossbourne is a comedian known for her crude and bold speech. In this show, she created an exaggerated character called "Bush Barbie": dressed in jungle-themed clothing, but paired with very short pants. During the interview, the choice that received the most attention—whether to have sex, marry, or date with whom—was revealed through her questioning.
According to Janet Albreckten, a columnist for the Australian newspaper, this sexual-related game is actually a variant of the "Sleep, Marry, Kill" game that Australian girls love to play. "If boys play it, they never add 'marry' or 'kill'. The game basically becomes something like: 'Who do you want to sleep with?'"
My Albanian, the "full package" Albarannis is precisely that Australian boy. He's currently the leader of the country, a middle-aged man in a polo shirt who discusses sex freely in interviews and a political figure whose career is going through a midlife crisis.
The spontaneity and casualness of a 15-year-old boy is likely true, but the ‘straightforwardness’ of a 63-year-old political figure almost always carries a big question mark.
Albanes and Osborne. Video screenshots
After Alabinis mentioned his most desired "sleep" with Kelly Michol, accusations of gender discrimination followed. But as Janet said, what Alabinis committed was not a feminist mistake, but a political one.
Janet’s observation was sharp: ‘Over the years, almost all serious political journalists who interviewed him were able to avoid questions skillfully. But in a podcast hosted by Osborne, he suddenly decided to answer honestly.’
When he answered the question, he blushed and looked at Osborne, then added casually, “My wife who recently got married,” as if it were a symbolic gesture. He was very clear about what he was doing. Nobody pushed him to say anything. Within less than half a second, he blurted out: "Clearly, it's Kelly." His answer, his entrance style, and his demeanor were all deliberately designed.
He was obviously calculating: If he played a sexually suggestive word game with a female podcast host, young female voters might find him cool because they might also play the game themselves.
Janet also pointed out that compared to that selection game involving Kelly Milan, Alabines’ choice of playing yellow jokes about “melons and breasts” with Haruko is an even more serious issue, and it “truly reflects misogyny.”
The Prime Minister of Australia, representing their country on the world stage, made a vulgar and desperate attempt to reduce a female prime minister, who is also one of our closest allies, into a sexual object in his remarks. Jenny retorted that this was an attempt by Albane's team to attract male voters with crude and hopeless tactics.
Japan regards Australia, which is an ally with the United States, as a "quasi-ally," and the two countries have close relations. In May this year, during her visit to Canberra, Governor Miyazaki presented Albornes with a crown melon from Shizuoka Prefecture. This gesture was related to Australia's earlier reopening of imports of Japanese melons.
At that time, Gao Shi said that sending sweet melons was to "let him taste the world's top-tier Japanese ingredients," and their conversation encompassed not only politics and economics, but also music and dietary culture.
Gao Shi actually only sent Albarnis one cantaloupe. Gao Shi's early morning account
In the podcast, Albany said, "I recently got something here that was quite strange, but turned out to be quite useful. It was a sweet peach. The Japanese Prime Minister brought a sweet peach... I got a pair of sweet peaches."
As if afraid that the audience might not understand the joke, Albanis emphasized to Osborne again: “She brought two, just like you, and they are very beautiful.” The full text of this podcast interview is not included on Albanis’s office website.
The magazine 'Observer' states, 'In a country like Japan that values decency, it is currently unknown how this kind of humor from Albanis will be received.' Whether Albanis's yellow jokes will turn into a bilateral diplomatic crisis remains to be seen.
As of now, there has been almost no media coverage in Japan's mainstream newspapers regarding Albinens’ verbal insults towards Gao.
During a press conference held in the Solomon Islands on the 7th, Albornes was also not questioned about related topics. Sky News host Chris Kennie criticized that many Australian mainstream media outlets practice 'double standards', always showing leniency towards Albornes and the Labor Party.
On the 8th, Sky News reported: 'In response to the highly controversial remarks about the Japanese prime minister being a 'melon', Albaneses still has not apologized in person.'
Previously, Albinas issued a statement of only one sentence through the Prime Minister’s Office: “I apologize unreservedly for these remarks.” At that time, the media’s focus was still on his remarks about Kelly Lombard.
Senator Sarah Henderson said that Albinas should apologize to the mayor. "The prime minister needs to apologize to all the women involved in this dirty incident, including the Japanese prime minister."
Ironically, just a few weeks ago, Albenis said, "No matter who you support politically, belittling, objectifying, despising, or offending women is completely unacceptable."
So here comes the question: who are the Australian voters starting to support more now?
Currently, the cost of living in Australia remains high, housing problems are becoming more severe, public services are under pressure, and the issue of immigration is being continuously debated. Albonis intends to lead the Labour Party in the next election, but he faces two major challenges: economic pressures and the rise of the right.
A latest poll conducted by the Australian Financial Review and Red Bridge Group showed that in the survey on who is more suitable to serve as Prime Minister, the current Prime Minister Albornes was ranked first, with Bonnie Hansen, leader of the right-wing party One Nation, coming in second place. One Nation has emerged as a prominent force that has attracted attention.
And the party in that country has a more mature ability to mobilize through social media. As a female politician, Hansen also has a high level of support among young Australians. Janet joked that when Albornes plays the “sleeping, marrying, dating” game on his podcast, what’s really on his mind is Hansen.
Dr. Blair Williams from New South Wales University believes that as politicians find it increasingly difficult to reach young voters, Albanes is trying to attract them through podcasts, but this attempt has fallen far short of expectations.
"If his purpose is to increase support rates, then his actions will be counterproductive... He even said he wants to have sex with others. Is that a proper statement?"
Blair said that, ultimately, the problem lies with Albanez's 'judgment'.
She also mentioned, "The government has done many good things in terms of gender equality, so this is a bit awkward."
Indeed, as Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said, this is the first time in Australia’s cabinet that there is equal numbers of men and women.
But what the Deputy Prime Minister didn’t mention is that, in the face of Alabinis’ provocative remarks, hardly any female cabinet members stepped forward to correct them.
On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, U.S. President Trump often makes offensive remarks about female politicians. Recently, he also had a dispute with Italian Prime Minister Meloni, whom he once praised as "very beautiful."
Janet sarcastically said, "If the person who said those words is Trump, then Australian Foreign Minister Margot James will definitely have many things to say."
