Australians could be forgiven for checking that it wasn't April 1 on Thursday, as the nation's Foreign Minister and Deputy Leader was described in headlines as "stunning", of "style and substance", wearing Giorgio Armani, and "most intriguing". No, there were no hidden cameras or media stunts in the week before Christmas—Julie Bishop had graced the cover page of WHO magazine, having topped the publication's list of the year's most intriguing people.
While Ms Bishop might be the most intriguing, the Prime Minister (PM) might be the most intrigued. In September, Women's Weekly magazine selected Ms Bishop as the nation's most powerful woman, ahead of Coalition chief advisor Peta Credlin and Julia Gillard. Then, following a December online survey, 1,008 respondents led the ABC's Drum website, which ran the survey, to proclaim that "support for Julie Bishop is 'going bananas'"—the deputy leader was presented as "a rare example of a politician who performed well in 2014" after crossing the finish line 20 points ahead of PM Tony Abbott.
Although some analysts have laid to rest the suggestions that another female leader is on the way, Thursday's front page dominance by his second-in-charge might have at least caused Mr Abbott a feeling of slight unease. In her interview with WHO, Ms Bishop said that she's "living the dream" and considers herself the country's relationship manager—relatives of the passengers of the MH17 disaster won't argue with the latter claim, as she negotiated for access to the crash site in Eastern Ukraine so that any bodies could be retrieved.
However, not everyone appreciated Ms Bishop's Giorgio Armani-clad photo shoot, with Channel 7's Sunrise co-host, Kylie Gillies, mentioning Ms Bishop's previous criticism of Ms Gillard's Women's Weekly shoot on Thursday morning. Ms Gillies agreed that the deputy leader is the most intriguing woman of 2014, but denied that the politician's fashion choices should be a matter for public discussion: "you'd never read that about a male politician."
Content with only four hours of sleep a night and no caffeine intake, the 58-year-old may end up having the last laugh. Not only is she Australia's first-ever deputy leader and foreign minister, but WHO placed her above popular model Lara Bingle and former Miss Universe Jesinta Campbell, both of whom are less than half her age.