An intimate gathering in Washington puts the energy minister in the room with two people trying to wreck his policy

Fancy seeing you: energy foes Abbott, Frydenberg and Credlin to face off in US

The energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, has no shortage of challenges right at the moment – including trying to land a complicated electricity policy that can placate both his coal-obsessed colleagues and also state governments concerned about a lack of ambition on emissions reduction.



But his diplomatic skills will be put further to the test this week when he attends the annual Australian-American leadership dialogue in Washington.

“The dialogue” is a high-powered gathering of movers and shakers – politicians, diplomats, business and media doyens – who mingle in closed sessions to mull the state of the bilateral relationship in the age of Trump.

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Frydenberg is bound for the soiree in Washington as the Turnbull government’s ministerial representative, possibly to try and enjoy a short respite before returning to try and land the national energy guarantee (Neg) in early August.

But there can be no respite from Australia’s tortured energy politics.

Also attending the Washington festivities year are Tony Abbott and his former chief of staff and now Sky broadcaster, Peta Credlin – two people running an entirely unsubtle campaign against Frydenberg’s national energy guarantee.

In case you’ve missed the recent antics, Abbott spent the past parliamentary sitting fortnight trying to stoke an insurgency against the Neg and, when that didn’t have the desired effect, the former prime minister upped the ante, declaring Australia should withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.

Credlin is one of the stars of the Sky News night shift and the subscription broadcaster has provided multiple opportunities over recent times for internal critics of the Neg to share their objections with the network’s right-leaning audience.

While no one anticipates anybody coming to blows, the coincidence of Frydenberg, Abbott and Credlin showing up in the same intimate venue during the policy sessions and associated mingling has caused some fellow attendees and colleagues at home some wry amusement.

But while none of the protagonists are media-shy, or backward in coming forward when it comes to defending their corner, sadly what goes on in Washington this week will likely stay in Washington.

The dialogue operates under the Chatham House rules convention.