Barnaby Joyce’s wife Vikki Campion reacts to his embarrassing street video with surprising praise for a political rival

Barnaby Joyce’s wife has gone on the offensive to defend her husband and praise those who have resisted the urge to ‘kick a conservative when he’s in trouble’.

In her regular column for News Limited publications, Vikki Campion slammed the ‘armchair doctors’ who spent the past week mocking her husband over a shocking video of him lying on a Canberra street late at night.

Daily Mail Australia unveiled an exclusive video last Wednesday of the former deputy prime minister, 56, stretched out on the footpath on Lonsdale Street, in the Canberra suburb of Braddon.

To write for the advertiserMs Campion praised “strong female leaders” such as Labor Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek for choosing “compassion over cruelty”.

She also singled out female MPs Sussan Ley, Holly Hughes, Jane Hume and Perin Davey for also showing understanding for Mr Joyce’s situation.

The images sparked intense debates in the country’s capital last week, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese observing that Mr Joyce was “clearly (in) difficult circumstances” and asking him to explain himself.

Nationals leader David Littleproud suggested Joyce take time off after the incident.

In her column, Ms Campion, who married Mr Joyce in a bush wedding last November, said Mr Joyce had received “fake sympathy” from hypocritical politicians who she believed had behaved similarly in private.

Since the incident, Mr Joyce has come out to defend himself, explaining that he had accidentally mixed prescription medication with alcohol.

Mr Joyce could be heard muttering obscenities in the video, but the Nationals MP denied claims he had substance abuse problems via Sky News on Thursday.

“I don’t have a drinking problem, you just shouldn’t drink if you’re on medication, mate,” Mr Joyce said.

‘If I hadn’t had those drinks, I wouldn’t have had the chance of someone filming me on the street.

“So the only thing that got me there was myself. I accept responsibility for this and apologize for it.”

Sources told Daily Mail Australia that Mr Joyce was sitting on the large planter and having an animated phone conversation with his wife when he fell off, ‘rolled on the floor’ and continued the conversation.

Ms Campion thanked the female politicians she mentioned by name for ‘injecting a shot of humanity into a city that had shown itself seriously depleted of it’.

“Plibersek in particular, as she got up early Monday morning to debate him, resisted what others were waffling about, an exploitative opportunity to kick a conservative when he’s in trouble,” she wrote.

Ms Plibersek and Mr Joyce have been fierce political rivals for years and have historically debated issues such as Indigenous affairs and housing.

Last Saturday, Ms Campion’s father Peter, who is standing as a One Nation candidate in the next Queensland state election, told Daily Mail Australia, the New England MP ‘had some really bad family news that day.”

‘He has already lost a brother to cancer, you have to start with that. He had very bad similar news, which is not for me to reveal, but of the same magnitude, and it affected him deeply.

‘Any decent human being who came across someone in that position, who was so sad that he or she had collapsed on the footpath, would stop and help, not just make a video clip and sell it to the media.

“The biggest part of this story wasn’t Barnaby being an emotional wreck on the sidewalk, but the lack of caring nature of his countrymen, his fellow Australians.”

In a statement to Daily Mail Australia on Friday, Mr Joyce admitted what happened was ‘very embarrassing’.

“I was walking back to my accommodation when Parliament got up at 10pm,” he said.

‘While I was on the phone, I sat on the edge of a planter, fell over, kept talking on the phone and very animatedly referred to myself as having fallen.

“I got up and walked home.”

The day after Mr Joyce’s video was leaked, he arrived in Parliament almost an hour after Question Time started, ahead of a meeting in the Nationals party room.

Mr Littleproud said Mr Joyce had matters he needed to work through but hoped he would return to work in the afternoon or later in the week.

“This is something he is deeply ashamed of,” Littleproud told Sky News.

‘He has made it very clear that this is not normal behavior for him and that there are extenuating circumstances. Of course we will support him to ensure he gets everything he needs.

Adding to Mr Joyce’s embarrassment, a fake plaque appeared at the spot where he fell this weekend.

The artist was in such a hurry that they got the date wrong and said it happened in January and not February.

A resident who saw it told Daily Mail Australia: ‘It’s quite hilarious. Everyone stops and laughs.

Another pop-up showed a sketch of where Mr Joyce was seen next to a sign advertising the location as a free bread and breakfast accommodation.

The outline of the white chalk comically featured Mr. Joyce’s signature wide-brimmed hat.