Government deal for media coverage? Did a Victorian government department really do a deal with a newspaper group to curry favour? That’s the word from one Spring Street mole. We’re investigating, but if you know more …

Labor minister a ‘mining lackey’. Labor’s Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson had some cleaning up to do at his electorate office last week. Wil Wallace posted this pic to his website:

Gillard gone by January! We report, you decide. According to an anonymous deep throat “inside the hornets’ nest”:

“The numbers have been counted and the challenge is on,word is 4:45 January 20…. Goodby lier”

Goodbye lier (sic), indeed. Julia Gillard’s Labor caucus isn’t due to meet until parliament resumes in February. But hey, don’t say we didn’t warn you.

A eurozone subeditors’ dream. A Crikey reader previews the headlines coming your way later this year. It won’t be pretty …

“Those that are paying attention to what is going on in Europe will no doubt have heard of Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy being dubbed “Merkozy” as a shorthand. Well, Sarkozy is likely to lose the French presidential election in April/May, and the winner is likely to be none other than Francois Hollande. So “Merkozy” will be no more and a new shorthand will be required. How to combine Merkel and Hollande? Will, it’s pretty easy actually and also very appropriate. It seems ‘Merde’ — French for ‘shit’ — will be trying to sort out the Eurozone debt crisis. Good luck with that.”