Starting a Rau

Last Friday State Parliament whirred into action for another term. Perhaps whirred isn’t the proper term. What noise does a mouse running on a wheel make? Pitter-patter? The point I am trying to make is, since the March 20 poll, the apparent silence emerging from Government mouth piece Mike Rann has been deafening. Of course he has been tweeting (I suspect the only way this will ever stop is when the blackberry is pried from his cold, dead hands). Upon checking the Government propaganda website, I scrolled through quite a number of Premier’s office media releases. So clearly Mike is still talking. When a Premier holds a media conference in the woods, and no one turns up, does he still make a sound?

Through my perusal of the SA Government website, I noticed that lower tier Government Ministers Snelling, O’Brien, Koutsantonis, Rankine and Portolesi were pumping out media releases ad nauseum. They are clearly still enamoured with their portfolio areas and are beavering away, eying a promotion in the next reshuffle or two. Of course Mike Rann had a smattering of pressers, but the only one that I can recall making any public impact was his response to the Federal Health package. This, however, was an issue where the media was actively seeking his view. This in contrast with the other new name in the list of Government media releases was the new Attorney General, John Rau. Every word he has spoken since his swearing in has been given extensive media coverage. Does the media in this State have a new darling?

Before delving into the significance of the emergence of John Rau as the media’s choice to take as Premier, I should discuss the lame duck, the dead horse, the monkey in the room, Mike Rann. His relative silence (bearing in mind silence for Mike is still a cacophony of noise to the normal man) could be explained for a few factors. Firstly, the 2010 election campaign was particularly bruising. He could simply be tending to his wounds and developing a plot to re-establish his public popularity. Maybe he thinks that the public just needs a break, and when he returns, he will be welcomed back like a relative whose flight had been delayed due to volcanic ash. On the other hand, it is possible that the arrows flung during the 2010 battle lodged too deeply for repair. Certainly towards the end of the campaign, his famous endurance seemed on the wane. Whatever the reason, the gap in the airways has now been filled by the new AG, John Rau.


I met the news regarding the elevation of John Rau to Attorney-General with delight. As a matter of fact, I had called for his elevation well before the March 20 poll. Michael Atkinson’s resignation and Rau’s elevation, however, came as a complete surprise. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe Michael Atkinson had the self-awareness and humility to acknowledge that he was a liability. Atkinson’s fall, jump or push, forced the Right faction to elevate Mr Rau, despite his wide spread unpopularity within the faction. He never turns up to factional fundraisers or social events, and seems to walk apart from the pack. Although he keeps his distance from the pack, he is still a member of the Right, which may cause all sorts of problems in the foreseeable future.

In a recent fluffy Advertiser profile piece, John Rau was touted as a future Premier. Messrs Koutsantonis and Foley would not have been pleased by this media anointment. I remember the outrage when Government staffer Stephen Mullighan was mentioned in the same lofty terms. Whether it be Medieval England or modern South Australian politics, there is always intrigue and threat of war when a new contender for the throne emerges. This is especially the case when the contender resides within the same palace as the king-in-waiting.

The problem that Foley and Koutsantonis face in warding of a John Rau tilt at the leadership is that Rau is baggage free whereas they are carting around the equivalent of Emelda Marcos’s travel luggage. The media sees Rau as a fresh face and voice, whereas Foley’s tricks are old hat. Koutsantonis is still reeling from his Turbo Tom alter ego. Weatherill and Conlon are going to be engaging in trench warfare for the foreseeable future. John Rau, of course, is a slave to the “numbers” and it is unlikely that he will get factional support. On the other hand, if his public appeal continues to grow, factional fat cats may have no other choice.