iron curtain howard did deal on hicks, page-33

cortis, I have no doubt that Downer as a person is all the things you say he is. But as we often see in any workplace , being a nice bloke and articulate doesn't neccessarily mean competent, though often it is enough to carry a less than competent person through. A Foreign Affairs Minister needs to be someone people tend to respect rather than like, especially when dealing with our closer neighbours.