Review of Kate White's "John Cain and Victorian Labor 1917-1957."

Kate White's biography of John Cain Senior. Cain would be the Australian political leader I most identify with. Son of a small farmer, John became politically active at a young age, debating politics with his workmates on his farm jobs during the early 1900s. He moved to Melbourne and became politically active in the Victorian Socialist Party (one of the various Socialist groupings at the time). He was a keen orator, giving speeches on street corners and spruiking meetings outside the Party's cinema. Kate describes him as going from "Red ragger" to career politician.

I identify with John Cain Senior because his political development is similar to mine (so far). I spent my early years as an activist in Brisbane, then once being expelled from my activist group I opted to engage in parliamentary politics. What's more, he worked blue collar farm jobs, while I'm a certified Horticulturalist (a far cry from the career progression of most politicians today).