20 November, 2015. 9:14
ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
BRISBANE’S GOLDEN SON Bernard Fanning is emerging as the frontrunner for the River City’s mayoral election race next year, despite not formally announcing his candidacy.
Political commentators have outlined that the recent surge in the former Powderfinger frontman’s electoral popularity is due to the underlying fact that neither Labor hopeful Rod Harding nor Mr Quirk know how to captivate an audience of thousands.
Should Fanning decide to run for mayor, he’d join a long line of esteemed entertainment figures turned political leaders, with names such as Schwarzenegger and Reagan etched before him.
Lifelong Bulimba resident Debbie Clarkwell said that Bernard Fanning is the type of bloke who’d cut his hair for a job interview.
“It’s not a stretch to see Bernard down at the Colmslie for a $10 steak and a gold,” said Clarkwell. “That’s the appeal of him. You’d never see Quirky or Harding slumming at their local club. They’d probably be drinking Chardonnay at the Tattersall’s.”
In recent weeks, Harding has built his campaign upon improving Brisbane’s finances and delivering better basic services. Not to mention his stance on improving the city’s public transport system, which unfairly supports low-income families in suburbs such as Logan and Ipswich – forcing the residents of wealthier areas like Kedron and Indooroopilly to drive to Centrelink each Thursday.
Kevin Derk has lived in Lytton, near the mouth of the Brisbane Riversince day dot and he says that he’d vote for Fanning because he reminds him of a time when the big brown river town was the envy of the nation.
“Fucken [sic] Fanning, he’s our man. That should be the slogan,” said Derk. “My whole life, I’ve had aircraft noise and shipping traffic to deal with. Then Powderfinger came along, and like the rest of the city, I just couldn’t stop listening. All of a sudden, I didn’t care about all that noise. All I cared about was ‘the Finger’ and which shopping centre opening they’d play next.”
Bemused by the recent hype surrounding his potential as the Brisbane mayor, Bernard Fanning spoke to The Advocate late last night direct from Madrid, the Spanish capital.
“I could’ve been the mayor of Brisbane back in the day, I agree,” said Fanning, via Skype. “But I was already King.”
With additional reporting from the Brisbane Times.
