Anthony Albanese says the images of starvation in Gaza make him feel “bad.” But feelings are not leadership, and expressions of discomfort are not justice. What’s unfolding in Gaza is not a tragedy to observe; it’s a genocide to confront. And Albanese refuses to confront it. This is not a failure of diplomacy. It is a collapse of something far greater.
As Prime Minister, he has every tool available to act: economic pressure, sanctions, diplomatic isolation, but chooses paralysis. He sanctioned Russia within days for its invasion of Ukraine. He cut trade, expelled diplomats, and declared it a global pariah. Yet after more than 600 days of mass graves, famine, and aerial massacres by Israel, not a single sanction has been imposed. Not one condemnation of the perpetrator. Just vague references to “violence,” “conflict,” and now, feelings.
His statements aren’t humanitarian. They’re rehearsed evasions. There’s nothing human about watching forced starvation and saying you’re “concerned.” There’s nothing ethical about sidestepping the perpetrator while entire generations of children are buried under rubble. And there’s nothing principled about hiding behind the language of politics when mass killings demand decisive action.
Albanese doesn’t speak like a man haunted by injustice. He speaks like one calculating cost: of offending allies, of losing votes, of crossing the Israel lobby. That’s not diplomacy. That’s cowardice in a suit.
History won’t remember how Anthony Albanese felt. It will remember what he did, and more damningly, what he refused to do. When the world needed condemnation and action against a rogue actor (Israel) and wanted criminals, he had nothing to offer. When it needed sanctions, he gave sentiment. And when it needed a leader, he played the spectator.
