Unemployed comedian succeeds in politics

He was raised in Canberra and once contested Andrew Peacock's seat in a general election. Could the political novel Left, Right and Centre; A Tale of Greed, Sex and Power, by the comedian Tim Ferguson be a touch autobiographical?

Well's ther'es a little bit of me in Luther," he said in Sydney yesterday, referring to his books's seductively handsome, power-hungry protangonist, Luther Langbene.

But which bit?

"Unfortunately, the muscular physique isn't mine," said the lanky 33-year old. "That's a little bit of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Luther's a little bit of Margaret Thatcher, the Messiah and a naughy boy."

A former member of The Doug Anthony All Stars comedy trio, Ferguson was snared by Channel 9 to host its frenetic 1995 series Don't Forget Your Tootbrush

A seocnd series was not forthcoming and Ferguson has been "working behind the scenes" since then.

His first novel was born two years ago as a script for a six-part television series about "a mad renegade politician who takes over Australia".

But, said Ferguson: "I thought 'Hang on, if it's ever going to be a series, it has to be a best-selling novel first'. I ended up with a bevy of characters, a reckless economy, money flying backwards and forwards - and morals flying all over the place."

On a more serious note, Ferguson hopes his tale of ruthless political ambition may serve as a wake-up call to apathetic voters.

"Most Australians front up at the ballot box as though they were at the Melbourne Cup," he said. "They know nothing about the horses and haven't looked at the form guide in 12 months. But they sniff the horses, kick the poo around, ask someone next to them, and walk in and place their bet."

Left, Right, and Centre offers a particularly merciless portrayal of Australian politicians.

As its author explains: "The Prime Minister is the voice of conservatism, the leader of the Left is everything that's bad about the Left, and the Greenies are a pack of communists."

He isn't expecting any lawsuits, because the book is set 10 seconds into the future and most of the characters are "larger thatn life".

Having finished his political novel, Ferguson is still busy.

"I've already got a second book under way, which is about crime,"he said. "The leap from politics to crime wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. In fact, it's frighteningly similar."

-RICHARD JINMAN, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER

Typed up by ktwong.

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