The man chosen by the Liberal Party to remove Mark Latham from his western Sydney seat believes Americans are "stupid" and "have no idea how dumb they are". Michael Medway, 25, also has advice for the "sad" people who drink Fosters Lager when overseas — "If you are that sad, stay at home, move to Rooty Hill and drink Fosters all night." The insurance salesman from Liverpool has won Liberal preselection for the seat of Werriwa, but his colourful language and controversial views will have voters mistaking him for the Opposition Leader. Mr Medway has spent much of the past two years travelling around Europe on Contiki tours and keeping a daily web diary — obtained by The Advertiser — for friends back home.
On a day trip to England's Stratford-on-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare, he became particularly incensed at a group of US tourists. "Once again the dumb American tourists appear with their uneducated, stupid comments. I have given up detailing these — I now just look at them and shake my head," he wrote afterwards. "I am sure that they have no idea how dumb they are." Frustrated by his inability to find an Internet connection at a nearby cafe, Mr Medway confided in his diary: "The American next to me couldn't get it to work — need I say anything more than silly dumb American bitch!"
Mr Medway needs a 17 per cent swing to defeat Mr Latham, but the release of his colourful diary is unlikely to catapult him into Parliament. Born and bred in Liverpool, Mr Medway told a local newspaper this week that his family home, where he still lives with his parents, was directly across the road from Mr Latham's former residence. "He was always a nice neighbour, but this area needs someone young and in touch with their concerns," he said, before a strategy meeting at Liberal Party headquarters last night. Prime Minister John Howard will use Mr Latham's past comments about US President George W. Bush as a strategic weapon in the lead-up to the federal election on October 9. |