“By the PM’s behaviour, he has arguably demeaned women by subjecting them to judgment about whom he was willing to “shag, marry or date”. Whether they had a view on it or not.” Columnist ROBERT McMAHON thinks Albanese has gone too far.  

In 1867, Walter Bagehot, the prodigious essayist on government, monarchy and science, published The English Constitution.

He argued Britain’s unwritten constitution had two parts: “dignified” elements that inspire public reverence; and “efficient” ones that make government work. In his view, the Crown provided the dignity that complemented the efficiency of government.

Which is just as well this conceptual formulation does not require members of the government to act with dignity. Or propriety. Or even decorum. Because our PM, Anthony Albanese, has recently acted in a way that made even me, a grizzled former bureaucrat from PM&C who has seen more than his fair share of indecorous behaviour, blink twice.

In short, Albanese’s behaviour was nothing short of vulgar and embarrassing.

In a recent interview with one of those ill-trained social media commentators for a podcast that all too frequently passes these days for news content, Albanese was asked about his sex life.

Readers of this column may, at this point, feel the necessity to put down CityNews and go and fetch a cup of tea. Green will not do. Black and strong will be needed.

Now that you are suitably fortified, let us resume. Albanese was asked in the “interview” whether he and his new wife were still “bonking like rabbits”. To which our PM responded, “when we have time. After the footy. It’s always a good aphrodisiac, a Souths win”.

Readers are encouraged to take a good gulp of that tea because it gets worse. 

Mr Albanese was then asked to play a game, commonly played at parties or drinking events: shag, marry, date. Notwithstanding this tawdry background, the PM went on to willingly participate. He was then posed the following options: “Shag, marry, date: Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman or Rhonda Burchmore?”

Instead of demurring in the interests of propriety, Albanese voiced his choice of paramour: “Oh Kylie, clearly”. Not content to leave any of the romantic options on the table, he then added, “All of the above. She’s terrific.”

The office of prime minister and its incumbents’ communication practices have evolved over time. As modern media technology has changed, so have they needed to modify the way they get their message out.

No longer are PMs able just to issue a press release popped into journos’ pigeonholes in the Canberra Press Gallery to communicate their views. Nor is it sufficient for the PM to stand in the Parliament House courtyard and give a press conference, confident its content will be reported and, more importantly, consumed by voters.

These days, politicians must modify their message to meet its audience. While in the days of John Howard, that amounted to participating in occasional talk-back radio segments, it has more recently moved to where the eyeballs and ears reside: podcasts, banal FM radio and self-produced TikTok and Instagram posts, often involving politicians performing ridiculous and, at times, demeaning stunts to attract attention. 

But Albanese’s recent interview went one step further than that. His was not some mere stunt by a hapless minister munching down on a bowl of noodles concurrently advocating a policy hoping it to be consumed subliminally by viewers amused to watch a politician slurp lunch. 

Rather, he is our national leader. Our head of government. Responsible for representing our nation domestically and internationally. The temporary elected steward of our national values and interests.

In that sense, it is incumbent upon the prime minister to exercise a degree of decorum and to avoid vulgarity in conduct and communication. 

This critique is not some prudish tut-tutting of a PM who has exercised poor judgment in striving to make himself relatable by sharing his bonking habits.

By the PM’s behaviour, he has arguably demeaned women by subjecting them to judgment about whom he was willing to “shag, marry or date”. Whether they had a view on it or not. 

But there was something much more sinister at play – which I am not suggesting the PM or his office knowingly promulgated by participating in this sordid little “game”.

The original derivation of the “shag, marry or date” game was one called “f**k, marry, kill”. Quite aside from the vulgarity and sexism of playing a game called “shag, marry or date” – and then choosing Kylie Minogue as your unknowing partner – the PM’s office seriously erred in allowing him to play a game whose genesis involved something much more menacing. 

The Albanese government is legitimately proud of many of its measures to advance the interests of women. This recent stunt, however, was an egregious exercise of misjudgment by the PM and his office. 

Dr Robert McMahon PSM is a visiting fellow at the Australian National University, adjunct professor at the University of Canberra, and former assistant secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

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