Ode To The Celebrity Politician

Celebrity politicians have always been a strange breed. The fact that their eccentric (or otherwise) behavior may reflect poorly on perception by the electorate, is the matter of most c concern.Arnie "I'll be back" Schwarzenegger is a case in point.His campaign minders spent most of the time managing the barrage of damaging accusations of anti-feminism, part-taking in orgies and various other causes that Arnie had offended during his past life.

The problem with bringing in an outsider with politics is that they have not been proven in the political sphere which is ruthless. Coming up with their own ideas is sometimes difficult, but Arnie has surrounded himself with smart people in his cabinet.Standard politicians have been tested and vetted in various ways throughout their tenure, in a process similar to natural selection. You stuff up, and you don't progress as quickly as you might of. Stuff up several times, and the tap on the shoulder will come. Same thing with most things in life, but politics means that all this occurs in a very public way.The tried and tested process normally throws up few surprises. No one is elected on Sunday, and becomes PM on the Monday. Except of course in the case of the celebrity politician

This brings me to the case of Peter Garrett, the former front man of Midnight Oil. He was elected to the safe Labor seat (9ish% lead at the last election) seat of Kingsford Smith that takes in Sydney Airport and other eastern suburbs such as Maroubra, Randwick and Coogee. His pre-selection was not a result of local branch decision, he was parachuted into the role by Mark Latham. He had been approached by some politicos since he left the band to "immerse myself in those things which are of deep concern which I have been unable to fully apply myself to up now".

He once ran for the Senate for the NDP (Nuclear disarmament Party), but fell short, as he was one name too low on the party list. The party imploded not long after. He has also been the president of the Australian Conservation Foundation, which in my opinion would have made him more of a Green Senator than Labor MP. Apparently disagreements between Garrett and Green honcho Bob Brown about the very subject of celebrity politicians put off that union.

The other big issue for the celebrity is media relations. You can't deal with them like you used to, as political editors, sketch writers, and lobby reporters will be far more cutting than the gossip columnist peddling rumours. As a small time hack myself, I can imagine the headlines:"Short Memory", "The Power and the Passion", "Somebody's Trying to Tell me Something" (All songs the band performed). He also had a unique stage and dance act. Strange would be a far better. Cartoonists can be so harsh, but I can only suspect they will be especially so with a bald and daggy ageing rocker.I found a couple of streaming clips from an 80s performance here. Many celebrities try to bridge the gap, but they sometimes ignore the warnings. The Liberal Party was embarrased when Russell Mark, a gold medal shooter at the Sydney Olympics, retired from his campaign for the seat of Ballarat, for no apparent reason.