Hard-working Australians have reacted negatively to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sounding peeved at his five-day holiday being interrupted by a press conference – but he got to enjoy at least one night out with his fiancée during his break.
In photos shared to Instagram on Sunday, Mr Albanese looks relaxed and happy with fiancée Jodie Haydon as they posed with owners and staff of the El Greko Greek Taverna at Point Cook in far north Queensland.
‘A very special guest joined us for dinner tonight,’ the restaurant’s Instagram page read.
‘It was an absolute pleasure to have the Prime Minister & his lovely wife for dinner tonight! We hope you enjoyed your night with us.’
El Greko Greek Taverna owner Lisa Grant told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday that the dinner on Saturday night was ‘awesome’.
‘Such a lovely man and Jodie is a delight.
‘I was very overwhelmed, let me tell you. We are a little Greek restaurant and to be chosen to have dinner with us was very special.’
Ms Grant said she checked with the couple during the night to make sure ‘everything was OK’.
Anthony Albanese (pictured, back right) poses with Jodie Haydon (back left) along with El Greko Greek Taverna owner Lisa Grant (front left) and her partner and executive chef James Hendry
Mr Albanese and Ms Haydon pose (centre left) with kitchen staff at El Greko Greek Taverna in Point Cook, Queensland
‘They loved it, it was lovely,’ she said.
‘Nearly everybody in the restaurant said ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe he is here’.
‘They were all excited. There was no hate mail, that is for sure.’
Mr Albanese’s mood seemed anything but ‘lovely’ at a hasty press conference called on Monday to respond to US President Joe Biden dropping his bid for re-election.
‘I’ve tried to have a couple of days off, and here I am at a press conference on Monday,’ Mr Albanese told journalists in Cairns through a grimace.
‘Might I say that the Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles has been given a bit of an easy time by the fact that I’m standing up here as a result of President Biden’s announcement.
‘I will be on leave till Wednesday. Although here I am at a press conference.’
A clip of Mr Albanese’s response was posted on X by the Aus Integrity account.
‘It can’t possibly get worse than this can it?,’ the account asked.
Mr Albanese and Ms Haydon pose with wait staff after a quiet holiday dinner at El Greko Greek Taverna
Mr Albanese (pictured left) shares a laugh on Saturday night with some of the El Greko kitchen staff
‘Prime Minister Albo has a press conference to tell people he’s had to come in whilst on holidays to have a presser.
‘Zero credit Albo, the rest of the country works on their days off and do unpaid overtime.’
Most of the replies were equally unimpressed by the Prime Minister’s irritation.
‘Honestly this is pathetic,’ one person wrote.
‘They barely work a full year and standing in front of microphones is bringing him undone? Once a union worker always a union worker.’
‘Bring out the violin,’ another commented.
‘We actually don’t want to hear from you so go on extended leave.’
‘Give the bloke a medal. A true champ. I nearly cried,’ was another sarcastic response.
During his press conference Mr Albanese did not sound pleased to be interrupting his break
‘He’s only had 87 days holiday this year, poor fella,’ wrote another sarcastic commenter.
‘Didn’t you hear he grew up in housing commission, give the guy a break.’
However, Mr Albanese had his defenders.
‘Guys, can we all take a moment to thank Albo for his commitment to his role,’ one person wrote.
‘I don’t think anyone, anywhere, ever, has come in to work on their day off!
‘And he barely even mentioned he’s on leave… take note world leaders – this is what real leadership looks like.’
Mr Albanese copped flak last week after jetting off on holiday just as chaos descended due to a nationwide computer crash.
One person commented on social media that while the outage wasn’t caused by the government, it still had a ‘big role in recovery and fallout’.
‘They can get systems in place to help poor get groceries (or) help small businesses with a tech solution cheat sheet,’ they wrote on X.
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