It elevates Scott Morrison from harried,strife-beset leader looking increasingly like a potential loser,to the position of Prime Minister taking charge of his nation’s defence in an emerging regional Cold War.
The new pact,saddled with the awkward acronym AUKUS,may not have got off to the shining start for which Morrison hoped,of course,when US President Joe Biden appeared to forget his name at the crucial moment.
“I want to thank ... uh ... that fella Down Under. Thank you very much,pal,” Biden said.
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Shades,perhaps,of then US president Jimmy Carter welcoming former prime minister Malcolm Fraser to the White House in 1977 as “John”,though Fraser’s first name was,in fact,John.
Still,the monumental nature of the AUKUS announcement meant even the “Down Under” window into the little-brother nature of Australia’s position among the powers was a mere blip on the road to Morrison’s repossession of high domestic political ground.
Not since 2001,when John Howard seized on the al-Qaeda attack on the US – and the arrival of the refugee-laden freighterTampa off Christmas Island – have circumstances combined to offer a conservative prime minister the pre-election opportunity to re-frame his leadership.