It's strange. You go out at lunchtime, in this case, to go see your personal trainer, as it's the only time you can see him this week. You come back home, and you find out we're getting a new Premier.
Dan resigned. Leaving Parliament immediately - well, as of tomorrow.
Didn't see that one coming.
Daniel Andrews is a bit of a polarising figure. You either love him or hate him.
I've always been a Dan fan - though I will admit that he's not perfect.
But who is?
I reckon being a politician has to be one of the worst jobs in the world. That the general public won't let you change your mind. That every last action you make is going to be judged, whether rightly or wrongly. That you live your life in the public. That you have to go to every boring civic event.... There's a long list of what is bad about being a politician.
I'm glad he's gone in the way that his has. Some will say that he's gutless for not standing in front the commission for the country's COVID response. Some say he's horse-traded Victoria away. Others appear to want him dead - well maybe the 100 or so people who are still protesting vaccines outside of Parliament House every Saturday (still) might fall in that camp.
I've never had a problem with him. As a left winger, why would I?
He appears to have had some vision.
He was also a safe pair of hands in a crisis. In particular, how he handled the fire disaster of 2019 was exemplary.
He's human. He's always reminded me of a dorky country cousin who became an accountant directly after school. Some of his gloss had tarnished, but he's always appeared to be to be a genuine, good person, with the public's best interests at heart. But he's definitely not perfect either.
I think he will be missed. I mean, who are Andrew Bolt and Neil Mitchell going to bitch about now? Some are pleased to see the back of him. Although I acknowledge that it's probably a good time for him to go, I think we've a lot to thank him for too.
Like some other great public servants, you have sometimes have to agitate to get things done. I'm thinking about how Gough Whitlam acquired Blue Poles 50 years ago. I remember my dad ranting about it being a waste of money. How wrong could he have been.
In my reckoning, in the future, Dan will be judged kindly. That black North Face jacket might get used around the walking tracks of Mulgrave now. May he be free to get on the beers.
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