"Honest John"

If I hear one more journalist or commentator pointing to our Prime Minister’s nickname, ‘Honest John’, in an effort to explain the electorate’s regard for the man’s integrity, I’m afraid my head may explode.

It’s an ironic label people! Like a tall man called ‘Shorty’ or a red-head nick-named ‘Bluey’ – get it?

In John Howard’s case, it was a nick-name first bestowed in the late 70's by a political enemy within his own party after the then Federal Treasurer reneged on promised tax cuts. It was also adopted by the ALP and wry scribes to ridicule 'Honest John' over his broken election promise. In the wake of a decade of broken ‘core’ and ‘non-core’ promises it’s a nick-name that still has currency.

The fact that Howard and his henchmen have managed to capitalise on this label, as though it were an indicator of his integrity and decency, is testament to the skill of their spin-doctors, the lack of historical knowledge of many journalists and community ignorance.

So, are we clear? ‘Honest John’ is an ironic nick-name. Not like rain on your wedding day (apologies to Alanis Morissette, but how ironic are that song's lyrics?) but like this:

Honest John
Brilliant George
Stupid Einstein
Ugly Angelina
Etc etc etc

OK, I’m glad we’ve got that straight!

Supporters of Howard's long-suffering deputy, Peter Costello, are now probably wondering what to make of 'Honest John's' promise to hand over power mid-term if he wins the next election. And, Howard Government Minister, Jo Hockey's, claim the PM is the 'Don Bradman of Australian Politics' seems deliciously ironic. 'The Don', of course, failed to score a single run in his last test match... . 'Out for a duck', his innings track record was diminished by the performance.

It's also worth noting that Howard's opponents within the Liberal Party now call him by the decidely unironic nick-name, "The Lying Rodent".