The magic of Alex dazzles again

Australia’s certainly clever Head Prefect Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has again put opposition leader Kevin Rudd in his box.

During a debate with his opposition counterpart, Robert McLelland, Mr Downer was invited to demonstrate his linguistic talents, as an answer to Mr Rudd’s girlie swot performance speaking Mandarin with Chinese President Hu.

“In life you come across some boys who are show-offs, I’m more self-confident than that,” he said.

Mr Downer gave a brief demonstration of his French speaking skills in which he mentioned his knowledge of the language but how he spoke English as an Australian.

He received an applause from the audience.

The report doesn’t identify the polite individual who was the source of the applause, but the self-effacing Mr Downer was having none of it anyway:

“That doesn’t deserve applause, that is not clever,” he said.

QED — Alex trumps Kevni in the mediocrity stakes. Those National Press Clubbers must have been so glad they came.