Ted takes it in his stride

By Paul Dunlop
SHOPPERS got an extra bargain in Pakenham on Friday.
Residents were able to put a word in the ear of the man who would be Victoria’s next premier.
Standing almost two metres tall, state Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu cut a striking figure as he strode Main Street in the ‘meet and greet’ that is routine procedure for politicians visiting in an election year.
Flanked by Bass MP Ken Smith and the Gembrook candidate Simon Wildes, the Liberals’ new Great Hope gave no credence to critics’ claims that he is more at home in leafy Toorak than the slightly less comfortable landscape of the fastgrowing outer southeast. Hand extended, his pitch polished by more than 15 years of political life, Mr Baillieu moved like an expert.
“Hello, how are you I’m Ted Baillieu,” was his standard greeting. “Good to see you.”
The response, as could be expected on a warm autumn day, was generally very friendly.
A few people were unsure who Ted Baillieu was. Others shook him warmly by the hand and wished him all the best. Some believed he had not a hope of winning the next election, others maintained stranger things have happened.
Local business people Doug McFarlane, a staunch Liberal Party supporter, and Sue RichPhillips even took the chance to have their pictures taken with the man thrust into the limelight just a few weeks ago by the resignation of Robert Doyle.
So is Mr Baillieu the answer?
“Absolutely,” Mr McFarlane said.
“We need someone to get out there and it is good to see him getting on with the job.
“He is a genuine, downtoearth guy and it is important Pakenham people get to see that.”