Dry PMO key to Julia's success?

Something’s in the water in the Prime Minister’s Office, or indeed a lack of something.

Is it mere coincidence that Julia Gillard over the past couple of weeks back in parliament has been setting off fireworks under the opposition benches and is also ascendant in the polls, while at the same time a good portion of her staff at the PMO have given up the grog for the month of February for charity?

After some pretty dismal primary numbers and less than perfect approval ratings, the latest Newspoll shows her on the up. The recent Libs internal mess and anti-Islam rhetoric might be the cause. But c’mon, isn’t it just as likely some Barnaby Joyce voodoo or a Bob Katter curse - the curse of the oversized hat - has lifted from the office? Meanwhile the real clue is that six staffers including media and policy advisers have been off the booze for the whole month of February with nearly $2,000 raised to help young people with drug and alcohol addictions. With the first $1,000 raised to be matched and given to the QLD Premier’s flood appeal.

The booze-free office must be the factor.

So if the two were connected and they’ve jinxed themselves on this one, could they ever make permanent T-totalers to keep the poll numbers sweet and the office at its peak? Tony Hodges, media assistant in the PMO, told the National Times following that logic might set a dangerous precedent, although there have been some benefits to the whole experience.

The most notable change is that all involved are actually springing out of bed in the morning, not particularly strange but for the fact that most of them get an average 5 hours rest a night, getting up around 3.30 in the morning to start the working day. A better quality sleep has meant a chirpier disposition, and better focus which of course backs up our theory.

But there have been downsides along the way, sorely needed dates have had to be turned down with no social lubrication to calm the first-meeting jitters, some have found it harder to relax at the end of a stress-filled day without a cold beer to unwind and another has even put on a few kilos with chronic substitution of vending machine stock. Morale remains but a permanent dry-spell could chip that away.

Even tougher times were to be had during visits to Queensland after Cyclone Yasi, the emotional long days were greeted with accommodation that had no power, no aircon, long walks up several flights of stairs and at the end of it, the only cold drinks available were XXXX beers. Although some were tempted, the crew bonded together to overcome.

Even more arduous have been the social side of things, which Hodges said has been the “toughest part”. Wednesday is the day during sitting weeks where the parliamentary buffalo head to the watering holes, but the FebFasters have sat without a drop, in dry isolation. Without alcohol the excuses to catch up are also fewer. Some friends of the long suffering staffers have more or less hung them out to dry and said “see you after the 1st of March.”

In a FebFast survey 27 per cent of people felt the need to drink at work gathering to fit in, but more than one in three said their work productivity increased while they participated in FebFast. Who knows? A dry PMO could run better, as Andrew Greene, when donating to the group on their donation page, joked “If you're off the booze maybe the office will start functioning properly.” But do you think you could cope in one of the most stressful offices imaginable, on no sleep without being able to have a beer at the end of the day? Would you begrudge them a beer even if it meant part of the government ran better? No, I didn’t think so.

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