So after two turbulent years leading his country, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been toppled — ousted by a man who will become Australia’s fifth prime minister in five years.
One of the most controversial leaders in recent Australian history, the pugnacious 57-year-old routinely made headlines for the wrong reasons during his premiership — drawing ridicule on social media for his questionable wardrobe, his penchant for raw onions, and his blunt talk towards other world leaders.
What made him so polarizing? Abbott, like few other world leaders in an age of airbrushed politicians, was an unrepentant man’s man.
A fitness fanatic and former amateur boxer, he was happy to be photographed or speak to reporters in his Speedos — or “budgie smugglers,” as the form-fitting swimwear is known Down Under.
The dubious taste in beachwear didn’t end at his swimming shorts. A picture of the 57-year-old sporting fluorescent-framed wraparound sunglasses generated a lot of excitement on Twitter earlier this year.
Abbott infamously reinforced his macho credentials with his bluster towards fellow strongman Vladimir Putin, vowing to “shirtfront” the Russian President about the MH17 disaster at the G20 in Brisbane last year.
The threat played well with some, but his perceived failure to follow through on the pledge drew some ridicule on social media.
But for anyone doubting Abbott’s toughness — consider this: The Australian leader has been filmed eating a raw onion. What could be tougher than that?
Following the buzz generated by the onion footage, Australian broadcaster ABC unearthed another clip of the politician tucking into a freshly dug vegetable. (Was it a leek?)
His baffling predilection for eating onions like apples was the inspiration for a tongue-in-cheek online tribute to the toppled politician Monday.
The sendoff used the hashtag #putoutyouronions — a reference to the #putoutyourbats tribute to Australian cricket player Phil Hughes following his tragic death on the pitch last year.
But not all Abbott’s gaffes were viewed as laughing matters, with some incidents betraying what critics alleged were chauvinistic, outdated views about gender and diversity.
On Twitter, Australian broadcaster Tracey Spicer labeled the former Catholic seminarian a “disgusting creep” after he was filmed smirking and winking at a male radio host while taking a call from an upset pensioner. The wink came as the woman revealed she worked on a phone sex line.
Abbott had previously raised eyebrows prior to his election when he appealed for votes alongside his children, declaring: “If you want to know who to vote for, I’m the guy with the not bad-looking daughters.”
There were also indignant responses when Abbott claimed that people living in remote Aboriginal communities were there as a result of “lifestyle choices” — ones which they couldn’t expect the state to subsidize.
Similarly, his hardline, if populist, stance on immigration, which sought to “stop the boats” by holding migrants in offshore detention centers and relocating them in third countries, drew fierce criticism, with some accusing Australia of breaking international law.
Australian comedian Nazeem Hussain tweeted that the change of leadership was unlikely to lead to a policy shift in that regard.
Australian filmmaker Sheridan Jobbins echoed the sentiments of many Australians on social media in appealing to the incoming prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, to leave his forerunner’s heavy-handed, divisive leadership in the past.
In congratulating Turnbull, Jobbins implored the former communications minister to “lead with an open hand, and not a closed fist.”