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responsible management, and capturing the middle ground of the politcal spectrum. In person, however, the two men had very different styles.
Both were easy to talk to, but Cain was quietly spoken and lacked the outgoing presence of the Boy from Balmain. He was now not in his own home territory, and was cautious with his words.
At short notice, we launched into a Corso walk, calling in on shops and introducing Cain to shoppers and staff. Landa and Carr trailed along behind, accompanied by Willie and some of our campaign team. Understandably, few people recognised the Victorian Premier, although we did out best to explain his unexpected visit. "You are only here because there is an election on", heckled a Liberal supporter. "What's wrong with that?" Cain retorted.
We reached the Steyne Hotel at the beach end of the Corso and filed into the public bar. The casually dressed drinkers were confronted by a group of strange politicians in suits. Breasting the bar, Cain and I tried to make conversation with the publican and a couple of the local businessmen. Standing in a corner, Landa sipped soda water alone. None of us seemed comfortable in this kind of bar-room campaigning.
For the afternoon, Tom Webster and I were sharing the VIPs. After they had finished in my electorate they were to go on to his. Tom had now joined us in Manly, so I handed Cain over and we all set off to inspect