Here is a photo of a man that is typically a consumate political being. Skilled in the practice of manipulating public opinion and one of the Liberal party's rising stars.

His name is Tony Abbott and those on the left of politics dispise this man mainly because he is so good at what he does. No matter what side of politics you inhabit no compassionate person could do anything but feel for Mr Abbott and the emotional turmoil that has been thrust upon him.

Twenty seven years ago, at university, he was sexually involved with a young woman who became pregnant. Both thought he was the father. The decision was to place the child up for adoption, which is consistent with Mr Abbott's long held anti-abortion stance.

For 27 years he believed that there was a child out there that he had fathered and, whilst he and the woman went on to marry other partners, they retained a bond from this shared parentage. Last December a young man contact them to say he was their son that they had put up for adoption. It was a reunion that often happens and provides some answers for the couple and if Mr Abbott had been an ordinary person it would have ended there but he was not and it was spread across the media.

The media coverage allowed another man who knew the boys mother, obviously in the biblical sense, recognised the similarity of the young man to his own boys. A paternity test was conducted and Mr Abbott was informed he was, indeed, not the father.

Mr Abbott has said

To find the boy that I thought I had all those years ago. To go through a reunion and now to lose him like this is pretty shocking and I feel a bit numb about it all.

You may not like Mr Abbott but any caring person cannot help but feel for him in this predicament. It is at times like this that we must put aside our own normal feelings about him and hope that he receives support and counselling that he will need to get him through this.

We can choose to grow from experiences such as these and become more compassionate and wise or we can allow them to harden and wither us emotionally. Let us hope that Mr Abbott chooses the former.

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