The author has been described by News Ltd as an "iconoclast", "Svengali", a pollie's "economist muse", and "pungently accurate". Fairfax says he is a "Renaissance man" and "one of Australia’s most respected analysts." Stephen Koukoulas concludes that he is "85% right", and "would make a great Opposition leader." Terry McCrann claims the author thinks "‘nuance’ is a trendy village in the south of France", but can be "scintillating" when he thinks "clearly". The ACTU reckons he’s "an enigma wrapped in a Bloomberg terminal, wrapped in some apparently well-honed abs."

Friday, April 15, 2011

Good bye, Peter Ruehl

Wow, Stephen Kirchner brought to my attention that the iconic AFR journalist, Peter Ruehl, has suddenly passed. I have to confess I was not a regular reader of his work, which was a little too light-hearted for the young-man-in-a-hurry. However, I knew two things about Ruehl: (1) he was a journalistic institution that dominated the back pages of the AFR; and (2) he was a right-wing satirist; an Annabel Crabb for libertarians, if you like. You can read about Peter's life in this thankfully-not-paywalled obituary published by the AFR. I also had no idea he was married to Jennifer Hewett, who is an equally accomplished journalist in her own right. My sincere condolences to Jennifer and their three children. Dad's words will be forever preserved for posterity to judge.
at 6:50 AM