Rumours of bad blood between Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the Father of the House Philip Ruddock following Mr Ruddock’s resignation as chief government whip have been all but dispelled after the Member for Berowra sent Mr Abbott a sizeable quantity of Nanna’s Mixed Berries on Tuesday.

Mr Ruddock’s gesture is being interpreted by supporters of the Prime Minister as a a peace offering and as a sign that the leadership turbulence of recent weeks is finally coming to an end.

Former Liberal Staffer and self described rationalist Chris Kenny told The (un)Australian: “The arrival of Philip’s gift will help a lot of people in the prime minister’s office sleep soundly tonight. Here is a guy who commands enormous respect and admiration within the party room, who some people thought might be preparing to support a move against the prime minister and now he’s given a very strong indication that he will support the prime minister to the hilt. This is an extremely positive sign for the PM.”

Gift-giving has a long been used to repair internal party rifts, in 2011 the prime minister Julia Gillard smoothed over tensions between her office and that of then-foreign minister Kevin Rudd with a pair of plane tickets to Tripoli. The gesture was then reciprocated in February 2013 when Mr Rudd gifted Ms Gillard one of his signature blue ties.

The (un)Australian understands that the Prime Minister invited Mr Ruddock to share the gift however Mr Ruddock was unavailable.

Nathan Lentern
https://twitter.com/nlentern1

You can follow The (un)Australian on twitter or like us on facebook.

Categories: Politics

Tags: auspol, berries, hepatitis, Nathan Lentern, ruddock, The unAustralian, Tony Abbott