OPPOSITION leader Tony Abbott has found himself at the centre of global attention after world media picked up on a gaffe made to coalition party faithful on Monday.
In a speech to Liberal Party supporters and journalists in Melbourne Abbott told attendees no one is “the suppository of all wisdom.”
As Washington Post reported, Abbott “apparently meant to say “repository” — a storage place — rather than a medication inserted in the rectum.”
He made the mistake when commenting on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s alleged reputation for a dictatorial decision-making style.
“You don’t get good decisions from government if all the decisions are simply made by one person,” he said.
“No one, however smart, however well educated, however experienced, is the suppository of all wisdom.”
The gaffe has provided colour to an otherwise dry election campaign, and fodder for global media outlets.
The Guardian have suggested Tony Abbott is now ‘the butt of the world’s jokes’, whilst The Independent says Tony Abbott ‘hits bum note’ with his gaffe. CNN offered a restrained assessment, calling it a ‘memorable slip of the tongue’.
It is the second in a series of blunders by Mr Abbott, having promoted the Liberal candidate for the western Sydney seat of Lindsay, Fiona Scott, by reference to her “sex appeal”.
On Twitter the hashtags #suppository and #sexappeal are trending in Australia, often used in the same tweet.