Kamala Harris’s newly minted running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, has had a whirlwind week, in which he’s been variously characterised as a teacher, a veteran, a football coach and now, the most “Australian prime minister looking American politician” of all time.
When US vice-president Kamala Harris chose Walz as her running mate, Australians instantly saw something familiar in him.
One Australian in New York shared a screenshot pointing out that Walz just “looks Australian”.
congratulations to Tim Walz, via @kattgillespie pic.twitter.com/jSGHIsiNoB
— Naaman Zhou (@naamanzhou) August 6, 2024
Others wondered why they felt this way. What was it, exactly, about this 60-year-old, white-haired man that made him look like a person from one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse populations in the world?
That was it: he looked like the last two prime ministers – Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese – combined.
Tim Walz looks like what you'd get if you smooshed Australia's last two Prime Minsters together pic.twitter.com/DkvwK8fyNm
— 🇦🇺 Stefan von Imhof (@stefanvonimhof) August 6, 2024
But it wasn’t just the last two prime ministers, another person pointed out, it was every Liberal party prime minister.
Tim Walz looks like a composite photo of every single Australian Liberal Party Prime Minister. pic.twitter.com/D6EuhB5EeC
— David Whitley (@mrdavidwhitley) August 6, 2024
And then it hit. It wasn’t just one side of politics, Walz seemed to resemble four of the last five prime ministers – two of whom were Labor leaders.
And if you really think about it, Walz looks like five of the last seven Australian PMs, two of whom were Kevin Rudd, who is arguably also the one he looks the most like anyway. Or six of the last eight, if you go back to John Howard.
https://t.co/7LVGeKFkI9 pic.twitter.com/qB6reLJRej
— Harriet Prebble (@harrietprebble) August 7, 2024
Local news organisation Crikey said Walz was “Oz-coded” and that he looked so “extremely Australian” it was “eerie”. It reflects something about the national character, they wrote. But what could it be?
