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."

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Wayne Swan references AFR column on Hockey in Question Time...

Pretty funny. I am told that the Treasurer, Wayne Swan, referenced my AFR column on Joe Hockey today to attack Tony Abbott over the ETS. With possibly that notable exception, there has been a surprisingly open-minded response to the analysis (click here for the free version). Media figures like Peter van Onselen, Grogs Gamut, Leigh Sales, and Latika Bourke have kindly retweeted it. The key criticism is that I am too 'sympathetic'. I would re-state a line from the column in this context: "Hockey’s humanity tends to reflect back your vulnerabilities. He’s like an echo chamber: those who pass judgment often reveal more about themselves than their target." On his News Ltd blog, the infamous Andrew Bolt quotes from it and writes:

"The underestimated Hockey...A nice profile from Christopher Joye. The word “trader” is important. So is “humanity”, but I would have been harder on Hockey’s position on global warming."