Advertisement

Former PM Rudd takes a turn as CNN anchor

His name is Kevin and here was there to help.

When veteran CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour decided to take a break from hosting duties on her eponymous current affairs program, a number of guest hosts were asked to fill her chair.

One of those was former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.


A well-known player on the international stage, Rudd might seem an obvious choice to host a show focused on world affairs. Yet the bi-lingual, nerdy former diplomat was always better at communicating through social media than spoken word.

Beamed to a potential global audience of 200 million homes, Rudd did alright.

Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has a stint as CNN anchor. Source: CNN
Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has a stint as CNN anchor. Source: CNN

Topics included the Chinese economy (Rudd is a well-known Sinophile), climate change (what Rudd once described as the "greatest moral challenge of out time") and sport.

“Volatility has rocked global equities market this week,” Rudd said from the chair in London.

“Many reasons have been given, including the snail’s pace of the economic recovery we’ve seen in Europe, now seven years after the Global Financial Crisis began.

Rudd. of course, discussed China. Source: CNN
Rudd. of course, discussed China. Source: CNN

“Remember it’s been China since the beginning of the crisis that has been the engine for global economic growth.”

Rudd's hosting debut was not a disaster, but critics described his style as something akin to a high school prefect discussing ideas with other knowledgeable people rather than trying to nail his guests on particular facts.

Not surprisingly, Rudd did pose a number of rhetorical questions to himself before answer them – as he did often as PM.

Rudd is one of a number of guest hosts filling in for Amanpour, which include British political journalist Andrew Neil, historian Simon Schama and Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson.

Morning news break – August 29