Phil's Top 10 Political Athletes (Anglosphere) of 2020: A Thread.

Number 10: John Horgan ( @jjhorgan) became the first from his progressive NDP to win a second term as Premier of British Columbia, gaining 16 seats and claiming the first outright majority for his party since 1996.

Number 9:  Annastacia Palaszczuk ( @AnnastaciaMP), the ALP Premier of Queensland, won a third term on the back of a 1.9% TPP swing.

If Palaszczuk serves the full term, her tenure will surpass those of Labor legends Wayne Goss and Peter Beattie – even more remarkable when you recall the shit show she inherited as Opposition Leader in 2012.

Number 8: Andrew Cuomo's ( @NYGovCuomo) commanding response to the early Covid crisis was a masterclass in crisis communications. He ends the year with approval near 60% and a stronger Democratic majority in Albany.

Number 7:  Canada's Chrystia Freeland ( @cafreeland), deputy PM and Finance Minister in Justin Trudeau's Liberal Government, just rarely puts a foot wrong.

Number 6: The only opposition politician on the list, UK Labour's Keir Starmer ( @Keir_Starmer) has made every day a winner since taking over from the hapless  Jeremy Corbyn.

His Prime Ministerial bearing is unmistakable, and he gleefully takes on both BoJo's Tories, as well as antisemites & Trots within his own ranks, and does so with admirable courage and skill.

Number 5: After losing in Feburary's election, Leo Varadkar's ( @LeoVaradkar) centre-right Fine Gael ultimately joined a three-way coaliton with Fianna Fáil and the Greens.

Varadkar took a demotion from Taoiseach (PM) to deputy (Tánaiste), but he is set to take over the reins again in 2022, with both personal approval and Fine Gael's support surging.

Number 4: Gretchen Whitmer ( @GovWhitmer). Nobody felt the white-hot rage of Donald Trump and his MAGA supporters in 2020 more than the straight-talking Michigan Governor. She was even victim of a botched kidnapping plot!

Not only did Whitmer effortlessly deflect these attacks, her approval among voters climbed in response to her strong Covid response, helping Biden and Harris prevail in the hotly-contested swing state by 150,000 votes.

Number 3: Jacinda Ardern ( @jacindaardern), New Zealand's PM deservedly won global plaudits for her handling of the pandemic.

Popularity at home also surged as she led Labour Party to a massive landslide in the October election, securing the first outright majority under NZ's MMP proportional representation system.

Number 2: Dan Andrews ( @DanielAndrewsMP). A huge Covid spike in metro Melbourne, and the resulting extended lockdown, threatened to finally undermine the two-term Premier's hold on the Victorian electorate.

But Andrews took charge, fronting the government response with superhuman energy and total accountability. It was a marvel of effective communication. He ends the year more popular than ever (70% odd approval), and the Victorian ALP sits on an unassailable polling lead.

He also found time to deliver a vastly ambitious and progressive state budget.

Number 1: Joe Biden ( @joebiden) entered the race defining it as a "battle for the soul of America",  offering restoration when progressive energy was behind revolution. He never once wavered, even during the many low points of his wobbly effort during the primaries.

His General Election campaign, though, was near flawless in both strategy and execution. He won all the debates. The much-anticipated gaffes never came. Most of all, his basic decency shone through.

The anaemic showing of downballot Dems supports the theory that maybe Joe Biden was the only candidate who could have beaten Trump. That he did – by seven million votes – makes him number one in my book.

Fin.