Albo's beer drinking stunt puts him in good company
Labor’s Anthony Albanese is the latest Aussie pollie to neck a full beer in front of a cheering crowd and, to top it off, he’s done it at a footy club.
The former deputy prime minister was in the Rockdogs changerooms at Melbourne’s Recklink Community Cup on the weekend when someone handed him a can of Mountain Goat.
In what is apparently now the only fitting response for an Australian politician, “Albo” downed it in one go, crumpled up the can and soaked up the applause.
The video will no doubt draw a few stern looks from alcohol safety campaigners but the Victorian Labor heavyweight’s stunt was undeniably popular with the crowd.
And he’s not the first.
Tony Abbott skulls
Some questioned Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s judgement when he downed a schooner in April before hopping on a plane to New Zealand.
To some it was irresponsible, but to those in the bar it was a good reason to chant “Tony, Tony, Tony”. With the PM’s polling figures still looking shakey, it’s hard to begrudge him his moment.
Andrew Laming does it standing on his head
Queensland Liberal National Party MP Andrew Laming was also on the receiving end of some stern criticism about the example he was setting when he performed a handstand before polishing off a beer at an Australia Day event.
Bob Hawke - the man who started it all
Former Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke is the man who started it all though. When an SCG crowd demanded he scull his drink at a 2012 Test match between Australian than India he was more than happy to oblige, and the crowd was obviously happy with his efforts.
Hawkie’s truly legendary beer drinking feat occurred well before the advent of smart phones of YouTube though.
While studying at Oxford University in the 1950s, Bob Hawke set a world record for finishing a 1.4 litre sconce pot of beer in 11 seconds. In his memoirs, Australia’s third longest serving prime minister suggested this feat had possibly contributed to his political success more than any other.
