Most of the time, it can be difficult to differentiate LNP MP Ted O’Brien from a beige wall.

A persistent underachiever, he has nevertheless proved that being among the last standing can still overcome mediocrity.

But desperate times create desperate measures, and O’Brien, having reached a career high as deputy Liberal leader and shadow treasurer under the short-lived Ley Liberal rule, has held on to a shadow bench position purely by being one of the more forgettable Queenslanders.

So it wasn’t a surprise to see O’Brien attempt to recapture some sort of personality through a National Press club Address – the last time he held one, it was to reset the Coalition’s economic policy through the lens of “Jess” the average Australian voter the LNP was desperate to capture.

Jess was never mentioned again following that Press Club speech. We hope she’s living her best life somewhere.

Much of what O’Brien yapped on about on Wednesday was a beige imitation of where he thinks his party is positioned on issues. What Australia is about through the eyes of a middle-aged beige man who has spent most of his career as a big fish in a small pond and who has mistaken confidence and fitting the mould for ability and competence.

But towards the very end, just as everyone was about to find something more productive to do and nod off, Nine’s Andrew Probyn roused O’Brien into finding a personality. Probyn wanted to know what O’Brien made of........

© The New Daily