5 days ago
Canada's PM revealed as fan of Aussie film Gallipoli – and he's no slouch on the hat front
The world might be on fire right now, but international diplomacy still retains some of its quainter rituals that hark back to a simpler time – the official exchange of gifts between leaders.
So when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney before the G7 Summit in Calgary this week, the gift-giving attracted almost as much publicity as the diplomacy.
Carney, the former governor of the Bank of England, is now prime minister of Canada (how's that for a career plot twist?), after reversing near-certain defeat of his party after Justin Trudeau had outstayed his welcome.
Albanese presented Carney with an Akubra (we feel Uggs would have been more thoughtful for the Canadian winter).
But that's not all. The PM also handed over some framed memorabilia from the film, Gallipoli, some stuff given up by the National Film and Sound Archives of Australia.
'Prime Minister Carney's favourite movie of all time is Gallipoli,' an official briefing archly noted.
The 1981 Peter Weir-David Williamson filmic monument to the Anzac legend wasn't what we'd expect to strike a chord with a nerdy Canadian economist, but there you go.
It led us to wonder what would be revealed to be Albanese's favourite in a moment of gifting reciprocity? Jesus of Montreal? I've Heard the Mermaids Singing? Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure?
