“I can’t say”: Pauline Hanson stumbles when asked to name key world leaders

Pauline Hanson is facing renewed scrutiny after an appearance in the upcoming News24 documentary “The Fight For The Right”, where she was unable to name the leaders of both Japan and Indonesia.

During the documentary, News24 host Chris Kenny pressed the One Nation leader on foreign affairs and whether, if she became Prime Minister, she would move quickly to engage with Indonesia.

“If you became Prime Minister, wouldn’t you want to visit Jakarta fairly quickly and meet with the President there?” Chris Kenny, a News24 host asked.

“I don’t know if I’d say I want to,” Senator Hanson said.

Kenny then put a direct question to her about Indonesia’s leader.

“Do you know who the President is?” she was asked.

“No, I don’t know his name,” she admitted.

“I can’t remember his name.”

Kenny followed up by asking, “You can’t remember the name of the President of Indonesia?”

“No, I can’t,” she said.

He then turned to Japan.

“What about the Prime Minister of Japan?”

“Oh, she’s – um – I can’t say,” Senator Hanson said.

Kenny responded: “You can’t remember her name either? You could tell us who the President of China is.”

“Xi Jinping,” Senator Hanson said.

The leaders she struggled to identify were Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.

The documentary clip arrives amid continuing attacks from Labor and the Liberals over Hanson’s capacity to lead Australia. It also follows nationwide student protests this week, when thousands left their classrooms and took to the streets to demonstrate against Pauline Hanson.

Criticism of Hanson’s ability to handle international diplomacy was also sharpened in June by Anthony Albanese, who argued she would struggle to represent Australia abroad.

“Think about the global fuel crisis that has just occurred and think about whether everyone in public life would be in a position to go to our Asian friends in Singapore, in Brunei, in Malaysia, in China, in South Korea and Japan and say we have a relationship that is important, of mutual interest in our region,” the Prime Minister said.

“Look at what we’ve managed to achieve … is to deliver that security of supply so that today we have more jet fuel, petrol and diesel in Australia than we had … when this conflict began.

“That hasn’t happened by accident. That’s happened due to relationships … that’s what serious political parties of government are able to achieve when they’re focused on the needs of the Australian people.”