Harry Heidelberg is a Webdiary columnist.

Something big has happened. I agree completely with Alan Ramsey Another patsy? Dream on, PM today. Of course Latham is not the patsy, and he’s not the loose cannon either. He’s a big gun – and I think his shots will be well considered.

The dynamics have changed. Everything has changed. I would NOT be rubbing my hands with glee if I was the Coalition. This is a terrible result for them. The first sign was Latham’s first speech as Opposition Leader. He can cut through.

He’s not pandering to the constituency John Howard covets so much, because Latham IS that constituency. He can’t be much more authentic than that.

There’s a lot of things to love about this Opposition Leader:

1. Of course $65,000 in a metro area is not a high income. Try buying a half million dollar house on that salary. This is reality. Taxes are too high at too low a level

2. Of course education is under-funded.

3. Of course the vision thing is missing.

4. Of course he’s the next generation.

5. Of course his language is superb – the plain speaking aspect, not the excesses.

6. Of course he has heartfelt passion.

7. Of course market capitalism is the system and governments are obliged to make it work properly with competition policy, strong trade practices laws etc.

8. Part of authenticity is that you are allowed to be human and change your mind. This is not a gaffe in a stylized fight, it is being NORMAL. People can understand this. Remember how Kernot complained about the style of politics? Well this isn’t what she had in mind, but it will change the game. You see, that is just it – the game has become boring, and so it needs to be changed. Latham will do that. We call it a game, but the stakes are pretty high.

9. Of course there is a lunatic cab driver element. I’ve had more than one altercation with a Sydney cabbie. Some of them are stark raving mad. Sydney CAN be a rough town and anyone who thinks cab drivers are all cute as buttons and harmless as teddy bears needs to get out and about more often. I once had one run over my foot in Woollahra. Another one stopped in the middle of the Harbour Bridge and asked me to get out for no apparent reason. I’ve been told off because they couldn’t change ten dollars! Any candidate who has had experience in these areas has seen something of real life in Sydney. It’s the same as he realised as a teenager that there was no public transport to the ALP branch meeting so he had to walk 40 minutes. He wouldn’t have had the money for a cab back then. Later in life he figured that walking is safer anyway.

Blah, blah, blah – out with the old and in with the new! And he’s not a baby boomer!

I don’t know what the outcome will be – what I do know is that everything has changed and Labor made the right choice.

Have you ever noticed how the longer John Howard is in office the “better” he becomes at this sort of pained sincerity look? And that feigned indignant look?

Labor’s decision is great for Australia because everyone has to get REAL again.