End of Days

‘Isn’t it bloody embarrassing that here we are in the 21st Century, and we have a Head of State who’s not an Australian, not elected, and in fact is a product of hereditary monarchy! As a consequence, we have a constitution based around a Governor-General, again not elected but selected, who is the Queen’s representative,’ said Johno.

'Now it transpires we’ve had a Prime Minister, who apparently thought it was his Divine Right to get said GG to appoint him to numerous Ministries, without informing the public, parliament and most of the incumbents,’ he continued. ‘Unfortunately for our erstwhile First Amongst Equals, this has prompted overwhelming condemnation, including his colleagues on the not so Divine Right, who were oblivious of his actions.’

'Secrecy is a common constituent in the abuse of power, ‘ said Janno.

'Why do you think he did it, and why covertly?’ asked Alphy.

'Some have conjectured it was done in preparation for a potential calamitous event. Given his Pentecostal beliefs, perhaps it was a safeguard for the coming “end of days,”’ said Janno derisively.

’Given the forthcoming Government enquiry, the end of days may be coming sooner than he expected,’ said Johno with a grin.

‘I sense there may be more to come in the book of Revelations,’ said Janno

‘Yes, from PM to First Amongst Sequels. I can envisage a new version of the book Power Without Glory,’ said Johno, still grinning.

‘The problem is,' said Alphy, 'that existing conventions have not been codified and rely on the integrity and goodwill of those involved. As a consequence, they can be ignored without a defined penalty.’

‘Precisely,’ said Johno. ‘Boris and Donald being very recent examples of the circumvention of convention, in a desperate attempt to retain power.’

’Speaking of the abuse of power,’ said Janno, ‘it’s the six-month anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine by Putin.’

‘Yes, Tsar Wars continues,’ said Johno. ‘It has become a shocking war of attrition, with Nuclear weapons or power plants being used as threats by RasPutin, and the ugly reality that he could actually unleash them.’

‘It was Einstein, through his discovery that energy and mass are interchangeable, who unwittingly set the stage for Nuclear power and atomic weapons, ‘ continued Johno. ‘Einstein later commented, “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.”’

Alphy shook his head in sad agreement, silently confirming both.

Robert StygallAugust 29, 2022