To be or not to be | National Museum of Australia

After years of leadership speculation, Peter Costello shocked the nation by choosing not to assume leadership of the Liberal Party after the election defeat in 2007. Nevertheless, rumours of a return to the leadership continued to circulate but were finally quashed late in 2008 with the release of his much-anticipated political memoirs.

Political cartoon of Peter Costello as a large white chicken. He has a shiny red comb and red beak. He sits at a desk with a quill pen in his right hand/wing. On a sheet of paper he is writing 'I'm no chicken. I'm a rooster!' His expression is one of anger and frustration. - click to view larger image — 'I'm no chicken' by John Shakespeare

Political cartoon of Peter Costello slumping on a couch in a lounge room. He wears a backwards baseball cap, yellow shirt and loose pants that reveal the waistband of his underwear. He holds a TV remote in his left hand. On the floor are scattered sheets of paper. The corner of a TV is in the bottom left corner of the image. A bowl of snack food sits on the couch. A doorway in the background shows another room. Mr Costello's expression conveys boredom and inertia. As Peter Costello slouches on the couch, he thinks 'I probably should clean up the house...I probably should get some direction...even get a job...aughh (sic), I'll do it when I finish the book...I just wish the folks would get off my back about doing something!' - click to view larger image — 'Costello on the couch' by Matt Golding

Political cartoon featuirng four images of Peter Costello, each in different clothing. One wears a suit, one wears a hat, check shirt and red handkerchief around its neck, one wears a floral print dress and lipstick and one wears a bright yellow skivvy. At the top of the cartoon is written 'Some extracts from Part II of the Costello Memoirs:' In the top left text, Peter Costello says 'The UN job was virtually mine for the taking – Kofi had winked at me one day – then they gave the gig to Ban Ki-moon...' In the top right text, Peter Costello says 'Baz Luhrmann thought I'd be perfect to play opposite Nicole Kidman in his epic "Australia"... I don't know why Hugh Jackman got the role...' In the bottom left text, Peter Costello says 'When they announced Quentin Bryce as the next GG, I was, frankly, surprised. I thought I had what it took...' In the bottom right text, Peter Costello says 'I'd always had my eye on the role of the yellow Wiggle. I guess it was just a case of poor timing'. - click to view larger image — 'Costello Memoirs' by Cathy Wilcox

Political cartoon of Peter Costello in Elizabethan era pantaloons, buckle shoes and baggy-sleeved shirt. He sits on a wooden chair at a rough hewn table, holding a quill pen in his right hand. On the table is an inkwell, wine goblet, bottle and skull ashtray that suggests John Howard. A sheet of paper sits on a writing support. On it is written 'Canberra. Hamlet in ACT.' Mr Costello thinks 'To be or not to be, that is the question...'. The text 'A complete and utter bard' is at the bottom of the cartoon. - click to view larger image — 'A complete and utter bard' by Bill Leak

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