Albo's cringeworthy Instagram post backfires instantly

Sometimes one has to wonder what may (or, in this case, may not) have been going through the head of a social media manager when posting what can only be described as a spectacular own goal.

For someone who (according to SEEK) earns upwards of $135,000 a year, or, according to one current parliamentary staffer who asked to remain anonymous, upwards of $170k, you'd assume reading the room would be part of the job description.

Apparently not.

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Own goal territory 

It appears Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has just notched up his own ‘Fantastic. Great Move. Well done Angus’ moment after a post on his Instagram page didn't go down quite as expected.

The post carried the caption, "A few Australian essentials", alongside a carousel titled "Things that make Australians happy".

Among the images was the Prime Minister holding a sausage beside wife Jodie Haydon, captioned: "A sausage sanga on a summer day." Another showed Albanese playing backyard cricket with the caption: "A game of backyard cricket."

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Anthony Albanese (@albomp)

It didn't take long, however, for commenters to come up with their own ideas about what would make Australians happy.

One person listed: "Women not being murdered by men every few days" and "tangible action on addressing domestic violence".

Another wrote: "Feeling safe is probably pretty high on most people's list, don't you think, @albomp? Maybe tougher sentences for rapists, especially those who offend against children, would be a good place to start. I reckon most Australians would prioritise that over a meat pie photo op."

The backlash comes amid growing public frustration over the Albanese government's refusal to establish a national Royal Commission into femicide, despite repeated calls from advocates following a series of domestic violence killings across Australia. 

If that wasn't bad enough, plenty of commenters suggested there was something else that would make them happy.

"Please add your resignation to the list," wrote one person, while another added: "Your resigning would make everyone happy."

If this all feels familiar, that's because it is. Only weeks ago, Albanese was forced into damage control after his now-infamous appearance on Nova's Bush Deep podcast, where a game of "Shag, Marry, Date" ended with the newly married Prime Minister declaring he'd "shag, marry and date" Kylie Minogue. 

The backlash was swift, an apology followed, and many questioned why the interview had ever made it onto the media schedule in the first place.

Look, we all know the internet, particularly social media, is a wild and untamed place. But you'd expect the communications team working in the highest office in the country to have seen this latest one coming.

Instead, they handed the comments section an open goal... and the internet rarely misses from that range.