So Greek: confessions of a conservative leftie
About this ebook
Born in a small village in Cyprus, Niki Savva spent her childhood in Melbourne’s working-class suburbs — frontiers where locals were suspicious of olive oil, and Greek kids spoke Gringlish to their parents.
Only a few decades later, despite all the challenges of being a migrant woman in Australia, Savva had risen through the ranks of political journalism at The Australian, and had gone on to head the Canberra bureaus of both the Melbourne Herald Sun and The Age.
Then in 1997, family tragedy struck, and she was forced to reassess her career. In spite of her own Labor convictions, she became Liberal treasurer Peter Costello’s press secretary, a role that she kept for six years before moving on to join John Howard’s staff.
This is one of the few books about Australian political life written by an insider with decades of exposure to its major players. Hilarious, moving, and endlessly fascinating, Savva’s is a story that moves between countries, cultures, careers and, ultimately, political convictions.
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About the author
Niki Savva is one of the most senior correspondents in the Canberra Press Gallery. She was twice political correspondent for The Australian, and headed up the Canberra bureaus of both The Herald Sun and The Age. When family tragedy forced a career change, she became Peter Costello’s press secretary for six years and was then on John Howard’s staff for three. Her work has brought her into intimate contact with Australia’s major political players for more than 40 years. She is a regular columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, and often appears on ABC TV’s Insiders. Her first book, So Greek, a memoir, provided rare insights into the relationship between Howard and Costello, and the workings of their government. The Road to Ruin, the first volume in what became her trilogy about Australia’s Coalition governments that ruled from 2013 to 2022, was a major bestseller, and won the 2016 General Nonfiction Book of the Year Award at the Australian Book Industry Awards. The second volume, Plots and Prayers, which dealt with the government led by Malcolm Turnbull and the ascension of Scott Morrison, was also a bestseller. The third volume, Bulldozed, which dealt with the demise of the government led by Scott Morrison Turnbull and the ascension of Anthony Albanese, was also a major bestseller and won the 2023 General Nonfiction Book of the Year Award at the Australian Book Industry Awards. In March 2017, the Melbourne Press Club presented Niki with a lifetime achievement award for ‘outstanding coverage of Australian politics as a reporter, columnist and author’.
