I thought it was the PORTRAIT that got all the wrinkles…

Federal member for Perth, my local MHR and Minister for Immaculate Hair, Stephen Smith.

Smiffy was one of many Labor ministers who walked on June 27 rather than serve again under Kevin Rudd. The results of the West Australian state election in March probably had him thinking already about leaving. Two state seats which overlap Smith’s federal electorate turfed out long-standing Labor members. Perth is not the cosy ALP satrap it was a decade ago.

Who to replace him? Two Labor gents were ready to step up for pre-selection. When Allanah MacTiernan expressed an interest in running, both withdrew. With Jooolya having made such a fuss about misogyny, who can blame them? So it was that Alannah won preselection by default.

Alannah has had a long and complex relationship with politics in WA. Perth City Council, WA state government, failed run for Canberra in 2010, Mayor of Vincent. Busted for drink driving while Minister for Transport too, incidentally. Mrs Mac has popped up all over Sunset City, from the deep southern suburbs to the inner-city north. An unkind soul might describe her as an electorate shopper… well, when it comes to the Circus of Ineptitude, there’s nobody more unkind than myself.

News that Alannah was interested in Smiffy’s seat took many by surprise. Mrs Mac had been quite vocal in her Vincentian role, full of plans and declarations. Then the state government revealed its own plans for our municipal boundaries; Alannah was set to become Mayor of a mythical district. Aha..

And so, inevitably, the campaign posters.

This was slapped up on the wall of my local fish and chips. I can only say that the conceit and/or deceit of it is breathtaking. Someone has given this image a bucketload of photoshop magic.

How much? Judge for yourself…

Hat tip to Tim Blair who featured this pic on his Daily Telegraph blog. The Worst of Perth has cast a jaundiced eye upon Mrs Mac as well.