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Abc

Email leak lifts lid on Gillard’s spin chief

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By Steven Raeburn | N/A

December 11, 2013 | 2 min read

A tranche of emails leaked to the ABC have revealed the inner workings of the former Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s communications strategy, and her communications chief John McTernan.

John McTernan

McTernan (@johnmcternan) remains active on Twitter in respect of UK and Australain political issues since the election of liberal Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

“The British spin doctor cultivated his image among Australian journalists as a real-life Malcolm Tucker - the political operative from the BBC political satire The Thick of It - but the bad language was not just preserved for venting at journalists over the phone or in writing,” the BAC’s Latike Bourke said.

“The emails show he frequently used vulgar language in professional communications with junior staff, with Mr McTernan employing obscene language to describe journalists, critics and even US president Barack Obama's digital strategist, Harper Reed, over his prediction that Labor would lose the 2013 election.”

McTernan joined Gillard’s team in 2011. He was a former special advisor to Tony Blair.

“He would forward flattering articles, pictures and memes about himself to staff but lacked basic knowledge of some of Labor's key policies and attacks, and regularly responded to media and stakeholder criticism with ridicule and abuse,” Bourke reported.

“Gillard supporters privately blame McTernan for her downfall. Many of Ms Gillard's closest supporters also privately partly blame him for her downfall,” she said.

He has not tweeted since the news broke, and has not commented to the ABC.

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