Oh Christ, Greens Leader Richard Di Natale Teased Another Citizenship SNAFU

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Published

July 21, 2017

There have been a couple of pretty wild moments in the past few days for those in the Australian media.

When former Greens senator Scott Ludlam announced his shock resignation from office on account of his lingering dual citizenship with New Zealand, we rushed to ascertain exactly what the hell had happened. Once we had the facts, we let you know about ’em. It was a, uh, turbulent half hour.

Then, when we got word that former Greens senator Larissa Waters had an “important announcement” several days later, we engaged breaking news mode in preparation for the seemingly impossible. Of course, it was true: Waters, too, admitted she was ineligible to serve over her Canadian citizenship.

So, imagine winding down on a Friday afternoon to see this from Greens leader Richard Di Natale:

I will be making an important announcement shortly.

— Richard Di Natale (@RichardDiNatale) July 21, 2017

The horror.

In preparation for the most concentrated (and avoidable) episode of political devastation in recent memory, we anticipated the news that Di Natale would tell us he was actually a dual citizen with Peru, Mongolia, or the Principality of Sealand.

Finally, he cleared up his citizenship status with a letter from the Consulate General of Italy, confirming that Di Natale is… not an Italian citizen.

Ecco qui. Non sono Italiano! #auspol pic.twitter.com/T5zr8HhOii

— Richard Di Natale (@RichardDiNatale) July 21, 2017

Like, good for him. It would be a genuine loss to Australia’s political landscape if the Greens’ leader also had to step down, following the resignation of two politicians who weren’t objectively evil. At the same time, we must say this:

You got us, Richard. We are howling and hollering. Goddamnit.

Politicians have been rushing to prove that they are, in fact, eligible to serve the Australian public. That’s all well and good, but we prefer it done without any heart-attack inducing shenanigans on an otherwise peaceful Friday afternoon.

You can start the Luigi jokes now.

— Richard Di Natale (@RichardDiNatale) July 21, 2017

No doubt our friends in the media will require all other MPs in a similar situation to provide the same level of documentation.

— Richard Di Natale (@RichardDiNatale) July 21, 2017

Source: Richard Di Natale / Twitter.
Photo: Anadolu Agency / Getty.