If you aren’t in Australia, you may not have heard about Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s wink and smile when answering questions by a caller on the radio about changes in the budget.

An Australian reader has asked me what I see when I watch Abbott’s behavior.

I’ve read through some news articles to see what the Prime Minister’s response was to his own actions, and found an article where he claims to have been distracted by his co-host, off screen. I’m not buying that story at all, if it is in fact what he claims.

In another article, it’s reported that a spokesperson for Abbott told Fairfax Media that the wink was simply done to show the co-host he’d take the question.   Then why the smile? I’m not buying that either.

I see Abbott’s behavior and response as simply displaying his amusement with what the older lady does to supplement her income, and he is communicating that to his co-host.

His behavior isn’t showing that he is taking the caller serious–that’s for sure–instead it’s flippant. I can understand why people are outraged at his response.