Australian PM takes royal knighthood storm ‘on the chin’

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Wednesday he stood by his controversial decision to award Britain’s Prince Philip a knighthood and was taking the firestorm of criticism “on the chin”. Several ministers have walked away from Abbott’s appointment of the nonagenarian Duke of Edinburgh to the ranks of the Order of Australia, MPs on all sides have mocked the move and the media condemned it severely. Abbott had kept quiet since Australia Day on Monday when social media lit up with repeated ridicule of his announcement. On Wednesday he tried to calm the storm by taking questions from reporters and admitting he would consult more widely on future appointments. But he did not back down.

I stand by the decision. I understand why some people do not like it. I respect their right to be critical. I take it on the chin.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott

The prime minister said he consulted only with the chairman of council of the Order of Australia and the governor-general, the Queen’s representative in the country. “I did what I thought was appropriate,” he said. Abbott, with his opinion poll ratings plunging after a series of political faux pas in recent months, suggested he had learnt his lesson. Outside pro-royal circles Abbott has found little support after raising republican heckles last year when he re-introduced British imperial honours Down Under. Australian-born media baron Rupert Murdoch, who was himself made a Companion of the Order of Australia under the previous system, tweeted that the knighthood was “a joke and an embarrassment”.

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