No matter the truth of the matter _ that she was on a short break, that the business of government went on – the perception is taking hold that the Premier loves a party and, like former Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his trip to Hawaii while the country was burning, she is willing to skive off when there is plenty of work to be done at home.

Politics is brutal and unforgiving and anyone who reads or watches politics knows that truth is an early victim in any debate of note.

More often than not political victories are won on perception: John Howard was out of touch, Tony Abbott was weird and lived in the 1950s, Anna Bligh lied about privatisation and Scott Morrison was “Scotty from marketing’’, did nothing and blamed everyone else.

It may not be true, partially true, or not even remotely true, it really doesn’t matter because it’s like the fake news that Donald Trump made famous. Once it becomes embedded a portion of the community will believe it no matter what. Sections of the media are also more than happy to give it a push.

We saw it with Covid and the multiple conspiracy theories that took hold. If they contained a morsel of the truth a scared and bewildered public was willing to spread the story as fast as the virus itself. 

For Annastacia Palaszczuk the perception is that she is A-list Anna, that she is more interested in swanning around at A-list events than doing her job. It is a remarkable turnaround from her image as the unpretentious woman from Inala.

The Premier has been dismissing it and saying for the past two years she has barely had a break, but with inflation soaring the public isn’t in a mood for forgiveness.

Is the A-list Anna perception true? Unlikely, but that doesn’t matter. 

It will be the theme the Opposition pushes right up until the next election and it could be a winner, but that isn’t certain.

The LNP have demonstrated a remarkable ability to lose elections in Queensland and have to battle the poor perceptions Queenslanders hold about them.

But now that it has become part of the political fabric the Opposition can pull the other threads. 

Every time there is bureaucratic blunder the Opposition will push the perception that it was caused by a lack of oversight, that Palaszczuk was off dining with the Hemsworths rather than making sure there were enough hospital beds.

“Where’s Annastacia?’’ will be the question, much like “where was Scotty?’’.

That it has got to this point is a tick for LNP leader David Crisafulli who has done more than any other LNP leader since Campbell Newman to make the Government look bad.

How can Palaszczuk combat it? Hard hats, shopping centre visits – the retail politics that she used to do well. 

She has to make another perception more powerful and the Campbell Newman bogey is unlikely to work for a fourth time.

Palaszczuk needs to either find a powerful story to tell about the LNP or make the public to accept and forgive. Getting off the red carpet would be a start.