The appointment as trade advisor for post-Brexit UK of gaffe-prone, misogynistic, homophobic, climate-change-dismisser and non-trade-expert Tony Abbott, former deeply unpopular PM of Australia, is mystifying. He’s described by one of his fellow Australians more familiar with his abilities as “a neo-con ideologue whose political judgment is not only aggressive but woefully inept….. He is an out-of-his-depth clown tripping over bits of international politics in a hapless, endless dance with his too-big shoes.” He appears to have been given credit for trade deals signed during his AU premiership with China, Japan and South Korea; but all these agreements had been worked on for years before. He was merely in place to dot the is and cross the ts and cut the ribbon.
Born 4 November 1957 4 am London, England, he has a stubborn, financially-motivated 2nd house Scorpio Sun, North Node, Mercury in a rebellious and uncompromising as well as outspoken square to Uranus. His Uranus is in an innovative trine to Saturn in opinionated Sagittarius, sextile Jupiter in Libra giving him confidence and luck.
Until late this November he has an upbeat successful tr Pluto square his Mars/Jupiter midpoint alongside a tough-slog tr Pluto square his Saturn/Pluto midpoint. Late November to mid December look panicky and paralysed as Exit-Day approaches. And 2021 and beyond is a disaster zone for him with tr Pluto picking up the trapped, infuriated square to his Mars from March onwards, on and off till late 2022. Progress is likely to be zero. Plus tr Uranus square tr Saturn will be rattling his Scorpio Sun, North Node and Uranus from April onwards into 2022 as well.
It’ll be 2023 before any rays of sunshine light his path but he may be long gone by then onto pastures new.
His relationship with Boris looks conflicted, discouraged and strung out till late year so it’ll be a trudge through thick mud. Not that new trade deals can be magicked out of a hat in a month even with competent negotiators but for PR purposes to soothe ragged public nerves there’ll have to be some flags to be waved before the New Year.
Michel Barnier and David Frost appear to be being sidelined after reaching an impasse in the EU/UK negotiations which might explain their very droopy astrology – see previous Brexit post August 23 2020. Though frankly I never thought Barnier’s beyond-unbelievably-stubborn 8th house Mars Moon in Aquarius opposition Pluto made him an ideal deal broker.
An utterly mystifying appointment indeed. Unless he’s been appointed for his blend of entrenched, old fashioned views and disruptive Uranian potential. I noticed that there will be a solar eclipse on his Saturn in December 2021. In 2022 April’s solar eclipse is conjunct his S Node, aspecting the Sun, Uranus, and Chiron. October’s solar eclipse is conjunct his Neptune in 2022. “Lively” times ahead, but perhaps not soon enough.
It’s also interesting to see that his Sun, Nodes and Uranus connect with the UK 1801’s Mars in Taurus (11), and the 1066 Mars in Aquarius (8). Maybe he partly embodies the upcoming Saturn/Uranus transits to UK Mars? This is not really a very happy thought for a Monday morning.
Another thought: the Maastricht Treaty was signed in February 1992, going ‘live’ in November 1993. In February 1992 Saturn in Aquarius was squaring the UK 1801 Mars, echoing planets in Tony Abbott’s natal chart, and the upcoming Saturn transit to UK Mars in 2021. By 1993, Saturn was opposing UK Saturn in Leo, plus Pluto and Mars in Scorpio squaring that Saturn.
1992 was also the Queen’s ‘annus horribilis’. We had riots, a recession, a general election, and the IRA. I haven’t looked into Saturn in Aquarius in 1962, other than to notice it was squaring Neptune in Scorpio – and so squeezing the UK Taurus Mars. Tory government then was in turmoil, and there was actually a smallpox outbreak…..
I would have thought that what matters when being appointed to The Board Of Trade is experience at high levels of goverrnment with the friendships and networks that involves, and previous experience of making successful trade deals with other countries.
Abbott is a Catholic, married for 32 years, with 3 daughters, if holding socially conservative views – like most Catholics, in fact like the majority of people world-wide – makes him a “misogynist” in feminist’s eyes and “homophobic” according to gay-rights activists, I’m not sure that matters much, unless one enjoys and approves of identity politics and cancel culture.
I notice that Abbott’s Saturn and Jupiter are in mutual reception by triplicity which would help his leadership and diplomatic skills to some extent.
Well, we shall wait and see. I’m yet to meet a single Australian who has anything good to say about him.
That’s surprising because during Abbott’s 2 years in office he finalised trade deals with Japan, China and North Korea + began trade talks with the EU (which the previous government had failed to do), these four are now Australia’s most important markets.
I know quite a few Australians, including my cousin and his family. I can assure you that urban Australians generally regard him as, in my cousin’s words ‘Australia’s biggest psycho’.
You are quite correct, he is reviled in Australia.
Furthemore he did not broker those trade deals that Claire speaks of, rather it was the trade minister Andrew Robb , based onthe foundational work done by the previous Labour government. Abbot just signed them.
Abbot has no hands on experience whatsoever.
I was in Australia then, he was gob smackingly incompetent. As to your belief his views are agreed on by most of the world, its impressive that you are cognizant of billions of peoples views.
I suspect its possible that quite alot of women like to vote, own property, have their own bank accounts, are able to take out loans, are able to say no to rape in marriage, play sports professionally acheive equal pay, have a career, marry whom they choose, have agency over their own bodies – and so on.
Sigh.
As far as I am aware, social conservatives, including most Catholics, have no wish to :
stop women voting
take away their property owning rights
shut down their bank accounts
deny them bank loans
approve rape in marriage
prevent them playing sports
deny them equal pay for equal work
prevent them having carreers (worthwhile checking up on Mrs. Abbott’s admirable independent career)
force them to marry someone they do not wish to
deny them agency over their own bodies (within reason, when it might be necessary to consider another bodies rights).
Social conservatives are pretty much just like you, except a bit more concerned to preserve what is valuable and has been shown to work well for humans down the ages.
That should “body’s” in the brackets.
Again Claire, its your words’ makes him a “misogynist” in feminist’s eyes’
Everything I have mentioned is thanks to Feminism a term that you use in the perjorative.
Perhaps you should be more accurate and specific in your meaning, instead of feeling aggreived at being misrepresented..
As to your claims, perhaps you should also pay closer attention to global trends.
For instance in America in 2019
“Ohio bill orders doctors to ‘reimplant ectopic pregnancy’ or face ‘abortion murder’ charges
Ohio introduces one of the most extreme bills to date for a procedure that does not exist in medical science”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/29/ohio-extreme-abortion-bill-reimplant-ectopic-pregnancy
“It would almost be funny if it weren’t real: a bill introduced in Ohio that would require doctors to attempt to re-implant ectopic pregnancies – a medical impossibility – or face charges of “abortion murder” (a legal invention).
But it is real. And it’s dystopian – a sign of the disturbing push from the “pro-life” right to treat women’s bodies as incubators, no matter what the physical toll.
The law would criminalize abortion and make it punishable by life in prison; “aggravated abortion murder” would carry the death penalty. That’s right: “pro-life” lawmakers in Ohio want to throw women and girls in jail for life, and even execute them, for ending their pregnancies.”
https://theconversation.com/in-2019-womens-rights-are-still-not-explicitly-recognized-in-us-constitution-108150
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/04/ohio-abortion-bill-ectopic-pregnancy-jill-filipovic
“The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Planned Parenthood, an abortion and healthcare provider, have sued Alabama over its ban on abortion.
The groups called the “extreme” law a “manmade public health emergency”.
The ban, which offers no exceptions for rape or incest, was signed last week but has not taken effect.’
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-48401063
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/14/six-week-abortion-bans-faith2action
“Historically Anti-suffragism was a political movement composed of both men and women that began in the late 19th century in order to campaign against women’s suffrage in countries such as Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Anti-suffragism was a largely Classical Conservative movement that sought to keep the status quo for women and which opposed the idea of giving women equal suffrage rights.”
I would need write a book to cover all the current pushes to erode womens rights globally by erstwhile ‘social conservatives’, as conservative governments swing further and further right.
And in Australia the present PM believes in ‘the Rapture’.
“Social conservatives are pretty much just like you, except a bit more concerned to preserve what is valuable and has been shown to work well for humans down the ages.’
Quite extraordinary statement on every count.
As to the trade deals – and this is CRUCIAL for the UK, it was not Tony Abbot that brokered them, rather the trade minister Andrew Robb, who built on the previous Labor government’s work into agreements with China, Japan and South Korea, as well as progressing Australia’s involvement in the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Tony Abbot has no hands on experience whatsoever in trade negotiations.
And his character continues to make him uniquely unfit for them.
Again, I was living there, were you?
He is one of the worst PMs Australia ever had.
We are on a ship of fools.
Abbott is definitely the worst Australian PM of my lifetime. Not only is he narrow and inflexible, but he is also disconcertingly lacking in self-doubt.
While the UK seems to be heading into a financial abyss under Boris I don’t think Brexit will ever fully be realized. It will also be interesting to see what will happen between the UK & Scotland which is also showing signs of turbulence and a shift between 2020 and 2022.
Thank you Marjorie, I was hoping you would cover this. Other than Pluto, he appears to lack the Earth element much like Cummings. Also, it’s interesting to see a Sun square Uranus whose political views are anti progressive – Uranus can work like that sometimes, especially in fixed signs. It’s an extraordinary appointment and I don’t think you have to be an astrologer to foresee trouble ahead.
Thanks Marjorie. At least there’s a ray of light suggesting that Tony Abbott won’t be around for too long!