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| From family to foreign policy, depth of Peta Credlin's hold over Abbott emerges | From family to foreign policy, depth of Peta Credlin's hold over Abbott emerges |
| (6 months later) | |
| The most extraordinary stories in Niki Savva’s account of the Abbott government are the bizarre details of the control Peta Credlin had over the prime minister, his decision making and even the role to be played by his wife. | The most extraordinary stories in Niki Savva’s account of the Abbott government are the bizarre details of the control Peta Credlin had over the prime minister, his decision making and even the role to be played by his wife. |
| The fact that Credlin exercised what many in the government considered to be entirely inappropriate influence for a political staffer is not news, it has been well documented as a central reason for Abbott’s downfall. | The fact that Credlin exercised what many in the government considered to be entirely inappropriate influence for a political staffer is not news, it has been well documented as a central reason for Abbott’s downfall. |
| But in The Road to Ruin: How Tony Abbott and Peta Credlin Destroyed Their Own Government, Savva – a former adviser to both John Howard and Peter Costello – adds depth and details to the picture of a prime minister who had ceded much of his power to his chief of staff, who was told by her he could not do his job without her, and who appeared to believe that was true. | But in The Road to Ruin: How Tony Abbott and Peta Credlin Destroyed Their Own Government, Savva – a former adviser to both John Howard and Peter Costello – adds depth and details to the picture of a prime minister who had ceded much of his power to his chief of staff, who was told by her he could not do his job without her, and who appeared to believe that was true. |
| Here are some of those stories from Savva’s book, probably more revealing than the headline-grabbing tales of colleagues confronting Abbott and Credlin over their rumoured (and denied) affair. | Here are some of those stories from Savva’s book, probably more revealing than the headline-grabbing tales of colleagues confronting Abbott and Credlin over their rumoured (and denied) affair. |
| Savva’s book is replete with stories of Credlin’s need to control everything including all diary entries, all incoming submissions and even the placement of office furniture and the decor of the newly-renovated Lodge, her micro-management, the ensuing dysfunctionality of the prime minister’s office, the pattern of her isolating and usually getting rid of staff who stood up to her and a pattern of angry scenes after which Abbott would seek to appease her. | Savva’s book is replete with stories of Credlin’s need to control everything including all diary entries, all incoming submissions and even the placement of office furniture and the decor of the newly-renovated Lodge, her micro-management, the ensuing dysfunctionality of the prime minister’s office, the pattern of her isolating and usually getting rid of staff who stood up to her and a pattern of angry scenes after which Abbott would seek to appease her. |
| “Credlin made herself indispensable to him. She would do his make-up, fix his hair, feed him food off her plate, let him sip wine out of her glass, bake him biscuits (especially if another female staffer had made some for him, too), then stand where she could eyeball him as he performed. He would look to her for approval, so he would know when he was doing as required or not,” Savva writes. | “Credlin made herself indispensable to him. She would do his make-up, fix his hair, feed him food off her plate, let him sip wine out of her glass, bake him biscuits (especially if another female staffer had made some for him, too), then stand where she could eyeball him as he performed. He would look to her for approval, so he would know when he was doing as required or not,” Savva writes. |
| “It was pitiful to watch. In every encounter, he accepted Credlin’s word above the word of others. In almost every conflict, she was the one he sought to placate. There was a pattern. She would have a meltdown, storm out, and he would feel compelled to go after her to mollify her or make sure she was all right. She never had to apologise for her behaviour, while others – from cabinet ministers down – were counselled to seek her forgiveness.” | “It was pitiful to watch. In every encounter, he accepted Credlin’s word above the word of others. In almost every conflict, she was the one he sought to placate. There was a pattern. She would have a meltdown, storm out, and he would feel compelled to go after her to mollify her or make sure she was all right. She never had to apologise for her behaviour, while others – from cabinet ministers down – were counselled to seek her forgiveness.” |
| Both Abbott and Credlin have refused to respond to details revealed in the book and have criticised Savva for not contacting them about the claims before its publication. | Both Abbott and Credlin have refused to respond to details revealed in the book and have criticised Savva for not contacting them about the claims before its publication. |