For Peter Costello it is not the time to push his barrow.

The Blowfly has always been an unequivocal fan of Peter Costello.

I cried into my manure on several occasions when ‘little Johnny’ had the opportunity to hand over to Peter but did not.

The Bblowfly was really dirty on Howard. His hubris, in my view, was overwhelming.

And that he took more notice of his family’s views on the last occasion , rather than his colleagues, was pitiful and astounding to The Blowfly’s small brain.

But this week I saw another perspective on Costello.

The Blowfly saw him stick up for himself in a situation that he should’ve left alone.

The management of the Future Fund should not be in the hands of a political hack of either persuasion.

It should be in the hands of a competent, experienced business person.

No one ever accused Peter Costello of being that!

And why would he put himself in that position?

Just imagine that Tony Abbott wins the next election and ,to fill his notorious black hole, he applies some pressure to the Future Fund to take up some of the slack.

Costello would find himself in a difficult position whichever way he responded.

And can we say that just because Costello was a Treasurer who allowed Australia to come out of the global financial crisis less battered than almost any other economy that he would be the best chairman of the Future Fund?

Costello never had to respond to the global financial crisis because he did not hold the levers.

And certainly he made more sense when he spoke of economic matters when he was in power than Hockey, Robb and Abbott do now but he also had a dream run in terms of economic activity.

And many would say that he just gave tax breaks and benefits to the middle class to secure their votes.

Peter Costello would’ve retained his status and dignity in The Blowfly’s eyes simply by keeping his counsel, not pushing his own barrow and ensuring that the guardians of the Future Fund made good decisions going forward.

The time to push his case has passed.