Abbott's appointment as trade envoy is a glimpse of UK gov't non-thinking. It offers few advantages and has many distinct drawbacks. He plays to their base and "trolls the libs". That's about all that can be said for him. He's intensely disliked internationally. THREAD 1/6 ~AA

The notion (advanced by the Express), that he's a "secret weapon" in our negotiations with Australia, is bizarre. He is more likely to derail the Oz deal than improve it and, in any case, tailoring trade policy around a relatively small distant market is questionable. 2/6 ~AA

There are also questions as to Abbott's competence. His history of coarse faux-pas is the opposite of diplomacy. Former High Commissioner, Mike Rann, says getting Abbott to run UK negotiations is the equivalent of Australia asking Gavin Williamson to run their schools. ~AA 3/6

So, why Abbott? “This is the country that has seen off the Spanish armada, the French emperor and the German kaiser. Against Louis XIV, against Napoleon, against Wilhelm II, against Hitler, this country didn’t need Europe. It saved Europe," Abbott said in a recent speech. ~AA 4/6

Abbott is a believer. A believer in Brexit, the 'anglosphere', the revival of the Commonwealth, the CANZUK project. Believers fulfil the one essential criterion a cult seeks. When they are thin on the ground, they become invaluable (I bet his salary will be astronomical). ~AA 5/6

Johnson is essentially replicating his cabinet appointment strategy, outwards. Lack of experience or skill are secondary to fervent, zealous adherence to The Cause. We know how this panned out domestically. Now we'll see it unfold internationally. I give Abbott six weeks. ~AA 6/6