Within minutes of Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announcing her resignation last month, she was hailed as one of the most dominant political figures of our time – a social progressive, supreme communicator and ruthless political operator who won support from Scots for her cautious road out of the pandemic.
A master of detail, she demanded centralised control and excelled at winning elections. Sound familiar?
There are striking similarities in the political careers of Daniel Andrews and Nicola Sturgeon.Credit:The Age, AP
More than 16,000 kilometres away it was striking how her political feats and traits mirrored that of Premier Daniel Andrews. Much of the praise and commendation lavished on Sturgeon could well be recycled when Andrews chooses to leave Treasury Place, which many of his colleagues predict will occur within the next 18 months.
While trying to draw parallels between political leaders is fraught, there are glaring similarities in the style and careers of Sturgeon and Andrews.
Sturgeon took on the job of Scotland’s first minister on November 20, 2014, nine days before Labor’s election win which catapulted Andrews into the job of Victorian premier.
As first minister, Sturgeon outlasted four British prime ministers, all Conservatives; Andrews has seen off three Liberal prime ministers: Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison.
Nicola Sturgeon announcing her resignation as Scotland’s first minister last month.Credit:AP
The pair can also be considered somewhat lucky for governing alongside unpopular or chaotic governments in London and Canberra, respectively. Both used this dynamic to their advantage, positioning policy debates as matters of morality and, in doing so, gently stoking a largely successful us-versus-them mentality.
Sturgeon championed a more cautious approach out of the pandemic than Boris Johnson, highlighting the risks those over the border were taking.
In many ways, Andrews mirrored this approach when he spent weeks berating then-NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian’s “soft approach” to the pandemic and blaming the vaccine rollout for lengthy lockdowns.
Like Andrews, Sturgeon’s ubiquity through the pandemic entranced anxious voters trapped inside their homes, who were fearful of reopening too quickly.
Daniel Andrews outlasted former prime ministers Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
She has been heralded as a progressive icon, a description Andrews would prize. Sturgeon pledged to lead the world on climate action, apologised to gay men convicted of historic sexual crimes, handed out boxes of essential baby items for newborns and led an expansion in free childcare.
But she failed to tackle pressure on Scotland's health service and improve literacy and numeracy standards for disadvantaged students.
While policy parallels abound, perhaps it’s in Sturgeon’s departure from politics where Andrews should heed the lessons from her political mistakes.
During her last press conference at Bute House, her official residence, Sturgeon conceded she had become a polarising figure and that opinions had become “fixed and hard to change”.
Daniel Andrews needs to heed the lessons of Nicola Sturgeon’s leadership.Credit:James Brickwood
“I feel more each day just now that the fixed opinions people increasingly have about me – as I say, some fair, others little more than caricature – are becoming a barrier to reasoned debate,” she said. “Too often I see issues presented, and as a result viewed, not on their own merits but through the prism of what I think and what people think about me.”
Andrews may have been returned for a third term as premier, but his policy decisions and approach to COVID had a polarising effect in Victoria, lining up the “I Stand by Dan” loyalists against the so-called freedom activists who declared him a dictator. Apathy was not an option.
While ignoring her part in fuelling the problem, Sturgeon observed that escalating toxicity and political polarisation meant “issues that are controversial end up almost irrationally so”.
This was evident in her decision to plough ahead with a controversial gender recognition reform bill, which would reduce the waiting period for adults to change their legal gender from two years to three months, and removed the need for a medical diagnosis, making it a matter of self-identification.
Sturgeon’s intentions may have been well motivated, as she insisted that removing the legal and administrative hurdles was morally the right thing to do. But her pig-headed approach ultimately put her at odds with the majority of Scottish opinion.
She failed to anticipate cases like that of Isla Bryson, a trans woman formerly known as Adam Graham who was convicted of rape and sent to a women’s prison – a case which exposed the risk of the policy being exploited by predatory men.
Therein lies the curse of political dominance. Sturgeon's unwavering authority led her to disregard critics and policy flaws.
There are lessons for Andrews, who has become a master at delivering social reforms but often with a crusading attitude that risks alienating anyone who reasonably disagrees.
Before leaving Spring Street last year, one of his former cabinet ministers offered a word of advice to Andrews about the risk associated with similar policy challenges brewing in Australia.
Should Andrews leave before the next election, he may avoid such legislative time bombs. But any pre-election departure could highlight parallels with another of Sturgeon’s failures, should he fail to groom a strong successor.
Annika Smethurst is state political editor.
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There are striking similarities in the political careers of Daniel Andrews and Nicola Sturgeon.Credit:The Age, AP
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