Niki Savva

Scott Morrison is the prime minister who went on holiday to Hawaii during the 2020 bushfires, lied about it, and when tackled by the press said, "I don't hold a hose, mate." And that's the tip of the iceberg. He is the top contender for Australia's worst prime minister ever, an absolute gift to the Labor Party, which won the May Federal election.

Niki Savva is a respected, experienced political journalist with access to politicians on all sides of politics. A lot of them have been very honest and forthright, and it's a shame Morrison's colleagues covered for him for so long when they didn't support what he was doing. This is a rushed book, and the prose is clunky, but I read it with glee.… (més)

Dysfunctional, damaging and delusional is the only conclusion to reach about Tony Abbott’s Prime Ministership after reading Road to Ruin. Nikki Savva, who worked for Peter Costello, has provided a detailed account of the workings of the office.

It confirms what was known: the job was beyond Abbott’s capability. There’s plenty of shocking information, from the micro-management of his chief of staff Peta Credlin to the way he treated colleagues. His claims of treachery, skullduggery and ambush about his loss of his leadership do not accord with the facts. Political junkies will enjoy it and politics students will find it informative.

Rumours of Abbott and Credlin having an affair and his Wallis-Simpson-like dependency on her are well known thanks to the publicity about the book. But there are many other incidents that will leave you shaking your head and wondering how these incompetent people got to the positions they did.
One incident that stood out of me was a Credlin tantrum during a state visit to Indonesia that held up a motorcade that required the closure of streets. I couldn’t help thinking one of Savva’s objectives was to ensure Abbott will never return to the leadership; hopefully not even a ministry.
… (més)