Daniel Andrews is below hearth for his look alongside dictators and autocrats in China

The query almost everybody — Labor good friend or foe — is asking is, why would Daniel Andrews flip up for a category photograph alongside autocrats and dictators?

Many folks have been shocked to see the previous Victorian premier standing behind China’s Xi Jinping, Russian chief Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator King Jong Un.

Even a few of Mr Andrews’s most ardent supporters are flummoxed by the photographs of the triple election-winning Labor luminary smiling alongside a number of worldwide pariahs at a significant navy parade.

Since his retirement from Spring Street two years in the past, Mr Andrews has been busy constructing his non-public enterprise, primarily as a marketing consultant with robust hyperlinks to Chinese firms.

Many suspect he’s making loads of cash. He’s additionally held roles with Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s Fortescue Metals — once more working with China.

As premier, Daniel Andrews made China his international precedence.

Ministers have been instructed they needed to go to China of their official capability and their chief was a frequent flyer, infamously occurring tour with out telling media — or Victorians — what he was doing.

And after all, the previous premier ignored warnings from Canberra when he signed Victoria as much as China’s expansionist Belt and Road Project.

The deal was in the end torn up by the federal authorities however even throughout probably the most heated criticism, Mr Andrews insisted it was signed with the most effective pursuits of Victoria at coronary heart — specifically, jobs and the Victorian financial system.

A legacy tarnished?

China is Victoria’s largest commerce associate.

Premier Jacinta Allan is because of take her first journey to Beijing because the state’s chief within the subsequent two weeks.

With an election due subsequent 12 months, you’ll be able to wager the photograph alternatives might be far more curated.

Ms Allan’s journey to China is smart. It is enterprise, and the state is all the time attempting to encourage funding and entice international college students.

The present premier was much less ambiguous in her help for Mr Andrews than her Labor counterparts in federal parliament, who have been yesterday dogged by questions on Mr Andrews’s attendance on the Chinese occasion.

“It is good for Victoria that Daniel Andrews is held in such high regard by the people of China,” Jacinta Allan stated in a press release.

“Victoria is an old friend of China and these connections are so valuable for our state.”

What would not make sense is why Mr Andrews could be a part of the category photograph.

The different Australian invited to the massive parade was former New South Wales Labor premier Bob Carr. He is in Beijing for the celebration however didn’t attend the parade.

Likewise, the Commonwealth was represented by a diplomat — quite than a minister, as was the case a decade in the past — who additionally steered away from the parade.

Victorian Labor individuals are looking for solutions as to why Daniel Andrews the citizen could be within the photograph when it was going to be beamed world wide.

It’s a win for China to have such a big Australian political determine — albeit a retired one — at their occasion.

For Mr Andrews, the general public publicity is more likely to be good for enterprise. That’s a concept shared by the previous premier’s allies and enemies alike.

Mr Andrews didn’t reply to enquiries earlier this week about his Chinese journey.

Richard McGregor, a Senior Fellow on the Lowy Institute who specialises in China’s political system, stated there have been good causes to not be on the navy parade as an official authorities consultant.

He stated Australia solely despatched a middle-ranked diplomat and a defence attaché.

“[It was] a very deliberate decision by the Australian government not to send a high-level representative,” Mr McGregor instructed ABC Radio Melbourne.

“Japan’s a detailed ally and associate of Australia, so most Western nations actually did not ship anyone senior both.”

But Mr McGregor agreed Mr Andrews was not acting as a government representative.

“From a Chinese perspective, I feel the order most likely went out to all Chinese embassies and consulates: ‘We need senior foreigners to attend this,'” he stated.

“So should you look in Australia, they did not have any luck with the federal authorities. Sitting premiers aren’t going to go.

“Both Dan Andrews and Bob Carr were close in different ways — or involved with China and keen on the China relationship — when they were in office and have spoken positively about it since, so clearly they were the ones that were invited and then accepted.”

However, it is going to be a adverse for Mr Andrews’s legacy in Victoria and Australia. It has additionally been a significant distraction for his outdated mate Anthony Albanese, who’s rebuilding the connection with Beijing.

The imagery is stark. Mr Andrews had a profitable political profession as a result of his picture and what he stood for have been so rigorously managed.

He disregarded the moniker “Dictator Dan” after the COVID-19 lockdowns to win his third consecutive election in 2022, which is why his look alongside Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un is so tin-eared for a politician.

But Daniel Andrews is retired now. And clearly his focus is elsewhere.