Yep. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

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@debra9275 wrote:
Perhaps Mr Abbott should have left it to his foreign minister to deal with in the first place, as diplomacy is not one of his best assets

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Yes, he should have. Julie Bishop wouldn't have been impressed with him either. 

Abbott didn't need to 'do'.  There will be lot more in the future that requires good ongoing relations with Indonesia, not just the current planned executions of 2 Australians.

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@am*3 wrote:

Angry Indonesians comparing Abbott to Shylock. Why didn't he just leave the communicating with Indonesia to Julie Bishop?

 

http://www.smh.com.au/world/bali-nine-executions-tony-abbott-compared-to-shylock-in-campaign-to-repa...

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Or does he speak to Aussies saying what he thinks they want to hear and did not anticipate the Indonesians hearing his domestic speech?  

I didn't agree that our tax dollars of $1 BILLION be given away in the first place. I don't agree with foreign aid. We should be helping the people of Australia, our citizens. There are lots of poor people here that could do with the money.

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@gleee58 wrote:

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@am*3 wrote:

Angry Indonesians comparing Abbott to Shylock. Why didn't he just leave the communicating with Indonesia to Julie Bishop?

 

http://www.smh.com.au/world/bali-nine-executions-tony-abbott-compared-to-shylock-in-campaign-to-repa...

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Or does he speak to Aussies saying what he thinks they want to hear and did not anticipate the Indonesians hearing his domestic speech?  

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What part do you think that the Indonesian Ambassador and other Embassy officials play in making sure that everything said in Australia is faithfully relayed to the powers that be in Indonesia?

You can be sure the Indonesian government knows as much as we do.

Looking at the media reporting of both these two and the lack of reporting of the NRL Footballers caught up in the cocaine saga

on the Gold Coast, I sometimes wonder if the media don't have a problem with drug taking / trafficking.