NO BASEBALL BATS BUT NOT EVERYONE CHEERING FOR THE PM AT THE PUB
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Revellers at the Commercial Hotel on Friday night found themselves in the company of the National and Liberal Party boss, underboss and consigliere, or to put it in plain terms the Prime Minister, his Deputy and Parkes MP Mark Coulton along with a swag of their advisers and the travelling press corps.
The first thing I noted was how good it was to live in Australia. Although his minders were close by, the PM was mingling freely with punters, taking selfies and talking to most anyone who approached him.
There is no way a punter would get within cooee of US President Donald Trump in any situation and certainly not if he was in a pub or a restaurant.
The atmosphere was jovial, mostly.
Mark Coulton commented to me, "The Sydney media would have us believe the punters are against us but do you see any baseball bats here tonight?"
Well, no, there were no baseball bats at the Commercial, but it is National Party heartland. If Scott Morrison walked into a pub in the electorate of Blaxland the call from behind the bar might be "Batter Up!".
Over the 15 minutes I was in the bar I saw lots of handshakings and heard many good wishes for the PM and his Government, but as I wandered about I heard a few people say things that could only be described as them getting in some serious batting practice before May 18.
Here are the best ones.
"Instead of beer the publican should try and sell these guys some water, I hear they pay quite a bit for that stuff."
"They will make a whole heap of promises that won't have been budgeted for in the recent budget, and hope that we are all mugs and believe them."
"I'm still waiting for the $550 off my electricity bill, reliable and fast internet and a phone that maintains its reception on the Wellington Road."
Mark Coulton is safe, Labor is unlikely to knock him off on May 18, but I am not sure the government is as safe in the rest of the country.