Former state premier Daniel Andrews clearly just doesn’t give a stuff any more about what people think.

Footage of the former Victorian leader shaking hands with the Chinese Communist Party’s supreme leader, Xi Jinping – and then posing with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un– is not just an opportunity to try out some jokes about “Dictator Dan”.

It’s actually quite serious.

Andrews was present for China’s celebration of 80 years since Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II. Tanks, troops and fighter jets rolled by as world leaders, including Putin and Kim watched. Canberra kept its ambassador away, sending a lower-level diplomat instead.

Defenders of Andrews may argue that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently travelled to China and shook hands with Xi as w

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