Peter Dutton: surprisingly good loser By Catherine Watson
A FRIEND of mine, a man who has despised Peter Dutton for many years, was unexpectedly impressed by the former Liberal leader’s concession speech on election night. “Gracious and sincere,” he said. “The best thing he’s ever done.”
Which reminds us of the scene from Macbeth where Malcolm says of the Thane of Cawdor: "Nothing in his life became him like the losing it."
It made me wonder how our own disappointed Monash candidates bowed out after a sometimes bruising election campaign. Losing speeches are hard. In the midst of their own hurt and disappointment, losers have to be magnanimous to the winner, console their supporters and offer a way forward. Not everyone can pull it off.
I looked at the concession speeches (these days, of course, made via Facebook) of the three serious Monash candidates who didn’t win, Labor’s Tully Fletcher and independents Deb Leonard and Russell Broadbent, to see how well they rose to the challenge.
A FRIEND of mine, a man who has despised Peter Dutton for many years, was unexpectedly impressed by the former Liberal leader’s concession speech on election night. “Gracious and sincere,” he said. “The best thing he’s ever done.”
Which reminds us of the scene from Macbeth where Malcolm says of the Thane of Cawdor: "Nothing in his life became him like the losing it."
It made me wonder how our own disappointed Monash candidates bowed out after a sometimes bruising election campaign. Losing speeches are hard. In the midst of their own hurt and disappointment, losers have to be magnanimous to the winner, console their supporters and offer a way forward. Not everyone can pull it off.
I looked at the concession speeches (these days, of course, made via Facebook) of the three serious Monash candidates who didn’t win, Labor’s Tully Fletcher and independents Deb Leonard and Russell Broadbent, to see how well they rose to the challenge.
