POLITICAL DESK

“IT’S THE FUCKING KISS OF DEATH, ISN’T IT?” said a long-term supporter of Senator Katie Gallagher, “when the boss says he has full confidence in you. It means he’s hanging you out to dry. We’re all shittin’ ourselves. Katie’s our girl. Albo’s a cold bastard when he wants to be. Irish-Italian, isn’t he? Rough as…”

“It’s the equivalent of Treasure Island‘s Black Spot. If you’ve read Stevenson’s novel, you’ll know it’s not just a warning of impending doom, but a promise,” explained long-time Canberra political reporter Gough Keating-Hawke. “When Albo expressed his confidence in Gallagher, he as much as asked his people to get rid of her. Like Henry II and Archbishop Beckett. Henry didn’t order the murder directly, he simply made it clear he wanted the priest gone. Others read between the lines and carried out the act. If she’s still the story in a week or two, then you’ll hear the swords being sharpened.”