PMs' salute to giant a snapshot of their flaws

The past and present PMs are (from left) Malcolm Fraser (Liberal Party, PM from 1975-1983), Julia Gillard (Labor, 2010-2013), Bob Hawke (Labor, 1983-1991), Tony Abbott (Liberal, 2013-present), John Howard (Liberal, 1996-2007), Kevin Rudd (Labor, 2007-2010, 2013) and Paul Keating (Labor, 1991-1996). Photo / Dan Himbrechts, Artwork / Rod Emmerson

Gough Whitlam’s successors no threat to his memory, writes Herald cartoonist and Australian Rod Emmerson.

It's a rare moment when you have all seven living Australian Prime Ministers together for an awkward family photo. This is the Aussie version of a Hatfields and McCoys gathering with guns, knives and hunting dogs left at the door. All loathing is put on hold as this exclusive club gathers to farewell one of their own. They're also very aware that Gough Whitlam was elevated to the status of supreme statesman by fellow Australians. So they are duty-bound to be there for his requiem. But the snapshot oozes a narrative for its sheer placement.

Standing head and shoulders above the rest, in more ways than one, is Gough's political nemesis Malcolm Fraser (far left).

Fraser masterminded Gough's embarrassing departure from politics, yet went on to become his greatest ally and one of his closest friends. Fraser is also a late admirer of New Zealand's anti-nuclear policy. A towering conservative, Fraser's loss is a huge personal one. He now stands as a wise observer of the current political psyche. This is also the man who has little time for John Howard and even less for Tony Abbott, describing Abbott as one of the most dangerous politicians in Australia's history.

After Fraser, the "statesman" gene pool diminishes on both sides of the political yardarm, with a consistent trend downwards.

It's refreshing to see Julia Gillard with both shoes on (she had an unfortunate habit of losing one while running from demonstrations or just walking across a grassed lawn). The first woman to be PM, this is one of her rare public outings while the savage wounds inflicted by Kevin Rudd (second right) continue to heal. She and Bob Hawke are cut from the same union cloth, so there's good safe company there.

Hawke, of course, was a blokes' PM and one of the people's favourites. A good drinker in his day, he was as much at home around a highbrowed negotiating table as he was at a pub talking sport with locals. Never short of a yarn and still loving a good belly laugh, he's a safe distance from his former Treasurer and backstabber, Paul Keating (far right).

Standing centre, and looking as though he and Julia Gillard are administering a sly wedgie on Bob Hawke, is current Liberal PM, shirt-fronter Tony Abbott. Abbott has a lot on his mind, mostly the thought that like Gillard, he has a potential challenger for his new job even though his prime-ministerial seat is barely warm. A huge fan of megaphone diplomacy and MAMIL apparel, he and New Zealand PM John Key share a common interest - they believe the sun shines from somewhere within John Howard.

The other thing on his mind is that he's no doubt wondering why he and Howard were booed by mourners as they walked in. Now Howard (third right) is one of those who polarised a nation.

He had the same tenure as Helen Clark, and it's worth comparing their respective post-leadership roles. Where Helen Clark went on to fill one of the most powerful positions at the United Nations, John Howard's failed bid just to lead the International Cricket Council left a wound that won't heal. He's very miffed all sub-continent countries and South Africa didn't want a bar of him. Neither did some Australian cricketers.

Howard thus shares the limelight comfortably with Kevin Rudd, because they both managed to savage the Labor Party.

But save the best for last - cartoonists and scribes near and far miss with great fondness the caustic vitriol of the once touted world's greatest Treasurer, the self-styled Placido Domingo of politics, Paul Keating. Here stands a former PM who made watching Parliament TV a must for adult entertainment.

Such is Keating's reputation for the fine Australian art of sledging, there were times when both sides of the House would either buckle with laughter, or wince in agony. And his sprays were not confined to the "scumbag" opposition, launching many a verbal nail-bomb at his own Laborites.

Some examples exist for those within this very pic. He's widely attributed to identifying Malcolm Fraser as an Easter Island statue with an arse full of razorblades; Hawke was known as "Old Jellyback"; Howard, "a desiccated coconut" and "a shiver looking for a spine to crawl up".

Whitlam was a target too, when the elder had congratulated him on a speech, suggesting to Keating "You should go back comrade, and get yourself an honours degree". Keating's response was "What for? Then I'd be like you". But he had such affection for his country. "Darwin looks great at 30,000 feet on your way to Paris". As it turned out, he was dispatched by the electorate at about the same altitude.

But as you can suspect by the look on Malcolm Fraser's face, the six to his left would fit very comfortably into one of Gough's shoes. Such was the big man's reputation. An era has definitely passed.

Bon Voyage Gough - it was Time.