Remember the first of the several advisers Mayor Johnson lost in those crazy early months before we all learned to fear and revere him? Well, he's been busy advancing the great cause of freedom - no, really - in the Maldives. This has not pleased president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has given the Australian political strategist a taste of his own medicine:
Just before the start of Thursday's presidential voting, Gayoom, who won six previous five-year terms thanks to electoral rules that made him the only candidate, portrayed the 34-year-old Queenslander as a corrupt - and corrupting - outsider, masterminding the main opposition campaign.
A barrage of press conferences, briefings and even cartoons released by the President's team called McGrath a malicious and highly paid outsider and said he was a Christian missionary, trying to undermine the country's Muslim faith.
Democracy campaigners are now concerned that McGrath, who has been working in the Maldives for 12 weeks as an unpaid adviser to former political prisoner turned presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed, may be deported before a final run-off election on October 29, and they have appointed minders to ensure there are no physical attacks on the Australian.
Well, if he doesn't like it there he can always leave. Now, read on.
