The man behind award-winning comedy series Veep will soon turn his attention to the Australian political landscape when he opens the Sydney Writers' Festival three weeks ahead of official programming.
Armando Iannucci will be in Australia in May to discuss some of his most venomous and scathing takes on the political class.
The satirist will also address one of the most famous catchphrases from Veep. The line "continuity with change" shot to fame in Australia after a very similar phrase was used by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull ahead of the 2016 election campaign.
During a television interview defending his record, as well as that of former prime minister Tony Abbott, Turnbull said there is "continuity and there is change". The catchphrase was also repeated by two key ministers on the same day.
Unbeknownst to the Coalition, "continuity and change" is the slogan of Veep's accident-prone president Selina Meyer. In the television series, the catchphrase is also painted on Meyer's campaign bus.
At the time of Turnbull's embarrassing slip of the tongue, Julia Louis-Dreyfus - the comedian who plays President Meyer - expressed her shock that a real-life politician would use such a meaningless phrase. Fellow cast and crew members also expressed their disbelief.
In S4 of Veep we came up with the most meaningless election slogan we could think of. Now adopted by Australian PM. https://t.co/64YmQvImj5??? Simon Blackwell (@simonblackwell) March 22, 2016
Iannucci has also previously mocked now-opposition leader Bill Shorten's infamous "I haven't heard what the prime minister said, but I completely agree with it" line.
"The idea that he supports whatever the prime minister supports, whatever the prime minister said, without actually knowing it - the dialogue in that, it's almost a satirical sketch," he said at the time.
In recent months, the political satirist has turned his attention to trolling US President Donald Trump on Twitter.
Pussy President demands credit ( and fee?) on show as Executive Producer, but disowns it when it gets bad ratings. Disloyal and sad! https://t.co/REmZVEyy2z??? Armando Iannucci (@Aiannucci) March 5, 2017
Armando Iannucci will appear at the Sydney Town Hall on Tuesday May 2 from 6pm. The full program of the Sydney Writers' Festival will run from Monday May 22 to Sunday May 28.
