Views on her ability to govern aside, the current ABC television show depicting the home life of Julia Gillard and her partner Tim Mathieson goes way beyond the gentle pokes and prods that we Aussies traditionally have at our elected officials.
I’ve written about the fun police and over-the-top political correctness before, but at some stage you have to show some sort of respect for the office Ms Gillard holds.
The show seems to think it’s extremely funny that Tim Mathieson used to be a hair dresser.
It’s not.
In a society that constantly complains that our politicians are not living in the real world, it’s somewhat extraordinary how quickly we criticise someone who has experienced day-to-day suburban life (Pauline Hanson and her fish and chip shop days is another example of obsessing with a politician’s ‘normal’ background).
The drama earlier this week over an intimate scene in the show involving Julia and Tim draped in the Australian flag again brings into question the credibility of the ABC, the decision to produce the show in the first place and what overall point the program is trying to make.
History will most likely show that Ms Gillard was a weak Prime Minister, who was at the helm when some extraordinarily bad decisions, muddled policy and game-changing decisions were made.
But a dumbed-down, unfunny TV show is not helping the cause, whether you love her or hate her.
