Author and The Australian journalist Troy Bramston’s new book, Bob Hawke: Demons and Destiny, gained access to the archives of both Mr Bush and his predecessor Ronald Reagan for the project.
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Mr Bush said he got on well with Mr Keating, who told him of “his keen interest and commitment to seeing me re-elected” later that year. Mr Bush would be defeated by Democrat Bill Clinton later that year but his son, George W. Bush, would become the 43rd president eight years later.
Mr Bush snr described the “warmth of the greeting” he received from Australians in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, recalling people were “so damn friendly”, but he regarded the nation’s press as “damn rude”.
And he reserved a special mention for Mr Hewson, then Liberal Party leader, for the tone of his speech at a state banquet.
“He gave a, unfortunately, politically overtoned speech at the big dinner,” Mr Bush wrote. “He took a slight swipe at Keating and how he’d gotten rid of Hawke – passing blow that he’d tried to do humorously – then he got into lecturing me a little bit on the agriculture program which we didn’t feel was necessary.”
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Mr Reagan, a Republican, described Mr Hawke as a “good man” who had privately told him “he did not represent the left wing of the Labor Party”.
Mr Hawke visited the US on four occasions during Mr Reagan’s reign. The first trip, in 1985, was dominated by New Zealand’s decision to enact a nuclear-free zone as part of its foreign policy.
“We’re both upset about New Zealand – refusing to allow our destroyer to use the port,” Mr Reagan wrote. “Has to do with NZ’s ban on ships powered by or carrying anything nuclear. We’ve cancelled the ANZUS war games.”
Mr Reagan said he and Mr Hawke had a “good relationship both as individuals and as countries”, with a lunch at the White House in 1988 turning “into a storytelling session”.
Demons and Destiny by Troy Bramston, published by Penguin, is released on March 1, 2022.
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George Bush snr ‘choked up’ at sight of Bob Hawke on backbenches
Source: Philippines Alive
