Anthony Albanese shocks Today hosts with 'un-Australian' election day decision
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese has been mocked for an "un-Australian" election day decision as he revealed his questionable sauce preference on his democracy sausage.
Appearing on the Today show to talk about his campaign, the presenters asked him about his choice of condiment and were left appalled by the answer.
"Look, there is only one sort of sauce for a democracy sausage and that is barbecue," he said.
The TV hosts were shocked by the controversial statement, with Nine's Richard Wilkins dubbing the decision "un-Australian".
"Sorry, that is just the way I play," Mr Albanese said.
"And you've got to have onions. That's the key."
He added that mustard was optional while presenter Charles Croucher said, "barbecue sauce is not".
Clearly rattled by Mr Albanese's answer, Wilkins crossed his arms and shook his head in disgust.
The Opposition leader then shocked the veteran journalist even more when he admitted he had been off the bread.
"What!" Wilkins responded.
"I've dropped 20 kilos," Mr Albanese said.
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He went on to say he might have two sausages today, so there's more meat than bread.
"With onions, barbecue sauce, that's just ideal I reckon. That's the Albo special," he said.
Clearly appalled by the exchange, Wilkins said: "I'm regretting that question".
'I'm fine with it': Democracysausage.org founder speaks out
Annette Tyler, founder of democracysausage.org – a real-time crowd-sourced map showing the locations of democracy sausages on election day, thought the criticism of Mr Albanese's choice was a bit rough.
"Here at Democracy Sausage we're all about inclusivity, and if barbecue sauce floats his boat, as long as he's got a democracy sausage we're happy," she said.
While Ms Tyler prefers a classic sausage sandwich with tomato sauce and no onion, she added it was a personal choice.
"I think being an Australian is all about choosing to accept people who live their lives a little bit differently. If they're not hurting others, I'm fine with it."
Mr Albanese's sauce revelation comes after former opposition leader Bill Shorten was shamed in 2016 after he was spotted eating his democracy sausage from the middle, rather than the end.
He addressed the controversy on the Today show this morning, saying he would have needed the jaws of a great white shark to eat his roll from the end.
"It would have done my dentures!" he said.
Ms Tyler said his actions were "definitely wrong".
"Here’s the thing about the democracy sausage, it's actually hard to go wrong, but the way Bill Shorten did it was definitely wrong," she said.
"My point of view is eat it from the end, and number two, don’t use a knife and fork. There’s really not too much more to it than that."
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