You're kidding, right?

I made the mistake of reading the Herald Sun today. It's always a mistake for me to dip into the tabloids. They only end up making me angry. But what can I say, it was the only available reading material at work at lunch today. So I read it, and proceeded to get angry.

See, it seems that the Australian PM has been visiting the other countries in the region, and she took along her partner, who the tabloid in question has patronisingly dubbed 'The First Fella'. I had thought that all the ruckus about having a female prime minister, and an unmarried on with a live-in boyfriend at that, had died down. I figured that the conservatives had resigned themselves to the fact that a woman is just as able to do the job as a man, and that anyone - even the PM - can live in sin if they choose to, without endangering the well being of anybody under their care. After the lashing that Bettina Arndt received following her comments about the relationship between Julia and Tim, a piece of writing that set Australia back about 50 years in most people's opinion, I had thought that it would all die down.

Except now it's flared up again. "Serious" media has commented on the man's dress sense and presentation, as well as her choice of clothing. But today's little stinger took the cake. Because apparently, the fact that Julia took her partner with her on a trip to Muslim countries has made her unsuitable to lead the country. It's supposed to be insensitive, and to have caused all of the leaders to pull out of meetings with them. Yeah, because people who live for politics let somebody's relationship status come between them and a potential route to power. Just as likely a reason for the cancellation of the meetings - which probably wouldn't have been made in the first place if her living situation was truly an issue - was the fact that there was a volcano erupting in Indonesia - a reason also given the Hilary Clinton for not meeting her this week. In Malaysia, the leader is said to have chicken pox. Yes, a potentially life threatening illness for adults, especially difficult for adult men. But no...he's faking it to get out of a meeting with the promiscuous woman who travels - shock, horror! - with her partner.

If she was a man, who installed his mistress as a secretary in order to take her with him on business trips, would there be so much comment? And perhaps the greatest irony is that the people who are criticising her for being insensitive to the Muslim beliefs that prevail in Indonesia and Malaysia are the very same people who attack the backwards world view of Muslims arriving in Australia from the Middle East and North Africa. What the hell, people? I know there are plenty of people who don't agree with living together without being married. Fine, you can have whatever beliefs you choose - that's the luxury of living in a developed, Westernised society. But don't think that it's OK to impose those beliefs on others. And don't think that as Australians, we have to choose our leaders based on the beliefs of countries in our region. Because those beliefs will never match each other perfectly. And at the end of the day, surely our leaders ought to represent our own beliefs? Call me nuts, but just a thought...