Politics is a dirty, brutal business. Frankly I just don't understand how people can cope with the stress of it when it's being conducted routinely. So when the bitter breakdown of a romantic relationship is thrown into the mix for all the world to see the stress experienced by those involved must be extreme. And that's exactly what's happened in the case of Troy Buswell and Adele Carles.
The Liberal politician has issued a writ against Carles for claiming that he is an
alcoholic with psychological issues:
Ms Carles revealed in The Sunday Times last weekend that Mr Buswell "dry-humped'' seafood empire boss Nick Kailis at a 2011 Christmas party, moaning in mock sexual pleasure.If this event did actually occur and we've only just heard about it that says a lot about how cliquey and secretive the "great and the good" are in this state. I mean, this wasn't just a party for Liberal pollies. There were prominent locals from several fields attending. And almost every one of them kept mum about the claims for
over a year. I can't imagine such a thing being hushed up in other states, and there's no way known that we wouldn't hear about it if it involved a federal pollie in Canberra.
When I originally learned about the Buswell-Carles love affair I was amazed. After all, an
independent former greenie from Freo and
a blokey conservative make very strange bedfellows indeed. The only other similar case of politicians "crossing the (bedroom)
floor" I can think of was the one involving Gareth Evans and Cheryl
Kernot. Not sure when that ended, but the breakup wasn't acrimonious or
public as far as I can recall ...
So I always suspected that the relationship between Carles and Buswell would end pretty soon. That's why I wasn't surprised that it did so after only a few months. But this latest development is deeply unpleasant. It will be interesting to see how it's resolved, and what ramifications there will be for both of them -- particularly Buswell.
The State Opposition are of course making a meal out of this and will continue to do so. Premier Colin Barnett may eventually have to demote his Treasurer which will be a shame because he does seem to be doing his job well.
