Pauline Hanson to stand against John Howard for ICC Presidency?
There’s been a fair bit of coverage in the press recently about former Australian PM John Howard being shortlisted for the post of ICC President from 2012, when either an Australian or Kiwi will fill the post for two years.
On hearing this, Pauline Hanson, a nemesis of Mr Howard during his long tenure as the leader of his country, has apparently decided to put herself forward. Hanson was a controversial figure and is regarded by many Australians as a racist, which if true suggests that she wouldn’t be far off being akin to the Nazis.
Anyway having been horrified by the appeal of Hanson and her then One Nation party when I was in Australia in 1998 and 1999, I am wondering what her justification for standing will be. I can imagine a TV interview along the following lines:
Reporter: “So Mrs Hanson, what have you got to say?”
Hanson “Please explain”
Reporter “Why have you decided to stand against John Howard for the ICC presidency?”
Hanson “It has been widely recognised by all, including the media, that John Howard’s supposed love of cricket came about due to One Nation policies. In short, if we were not around, John Howard would not have declared his love of cricket and wouldn’t be standing for the ICC presidency“
Reporter “Err quite, but what about you? Despite what you say, John Howard is recognised as this country’s biggest cricket tragic. What is your level of interest in the game?”
Hanson “Have you seen Howard playing cricket? Tragic is the word. I am standing not as an administrator with a thorough knowledge of cricket but as a woman who has had her fair share of life’s knocks, with views based on commonsense, and my experience as a mother of four children, as a sole parent, and as a businesswoman running a fish and chip shop. You know we used to watch so much cricket when we were serving the fish and chips, and we were even more biased against whomever Australia was playing than the Channel 9 commentary team. Bill Lawry is my hero you know – he always goes on about the good ol’ Australian crowd”
Reporter “What would you say to the people who believe that your views on non-Australians don’t exactly make you suitable for heading an organisation with member countries from the Caribbean and Indian sub-continent?”
Hanson “I don’t like it”
Reporter “But surely they would have a point? You’ve sailed pretty close to the wind in the past with your comments on Aborigines and Asians”
Hanson “Please explain”
Reporter “Well most people would consider that what you’ve said in the past is discriminatory and downright offensive”
Hanson “I may be only a “fish and chip shop lady”, but some of these people need to get their heads out of the textbooks and get a job in the real world. I would not even let one of them handle my grocery shopping”
Reporter “Have you got any support so far?”
Hanson “I am one red-blooded Australian who speaks for 90% of Australians. I’ve got loads of support. For example one of my supporters was at the WACA last week. You know the guy who rugby tackled the Pakistan player? We just don’t want their team in our country“
Reporter “Hmm, so you have the support of some fairly respectable Australians then. Is there anything else you’d like to say?”
Hanson “I don’t like what is happening to international cricket. I don’t like it. Howard will just kowtow to all the minorities. I’ll make sure Australia comes first and that Daryl Harper gets to umpire every test match“
Reporter “Err thank you Mrs Hanson, and now back to the studio”.
Could it happen? For those of you that haven’t experienced the charm and balanced views of Pauline Hanson, you might want to check out the song she apparently wrote.
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