Early last month, I was interviewed by Xinhua for a story about Prime Minister Gillard's upcoming visit to China. The interview left me bemused, as I could not provide an answer to its main question: what is Prime Minister Gillard's approach to foreign policy?
My inadequate answer ping-ponged between pleas that it was too early to tell (begging the question: when is the right time?) and that it would be less frenetic than her predecessor's whirlwind.
At the end of the interview, I could not help but feel that I had not satisfied the interviewer. I was not satisfied myself that, after more than six months of the Gillard Government, I was still largely in the dark about what the key principles, goals and preferred methods were for this Government's foreign policy. A month later, the situation remains the same.
I'm hoping readers and contributors to The Interpreter might help me find the elusive answer.
Photo by Flickr user Rantz.
