The Restore Democracy Sack Dan Andrews party, also known as Sack Dan Andrews Restore Democracy party, is also called either RDSD or SDRD, depending on which version of the name you use. And that’s the least confusing and disorganised part of this whole situation.
The RDSD seemed to drop out of existence suddenly and left many questions in its wake, including what on earth happened and if the RDSD was real or a fever dream.
The RDSD falls firmly under the definition of a single-issue party, their focus being- no surprises here- getting rid of Premier Daniel Andrews.
Why was the RDSD formed?
This minor political party was formed in late 2022 in opposition to Victorian Premier Dan Andrews.
Andrews became something of a scapegoat when the pandemic hit, garnering some criticism that was well-deserved and some that were a little farfetched, blaming him for everything from international conflicts to your local supermarket being out of toilet paper. The media seemed to be full of his enemies, which isn’t a new thing for a politician. But rarely do we see a politician so hated that someone creates a political party specifically and openly targeted at taking them- and them alone- down. This was not an opposition targeted at Dan’s political affiliations or ideas. This was for Dan the man himself. Or, as founder Tosh-Jake Finnigan puts it, Dodgy Dan and his Socialist Left lackeys and their dictatorship.
Their slogan, “Blow the whistle on corruption”, references the red shirts scandal, of which Finnigan was a whistleblower. Their policies were similar to those of many political parties, relatively generic, with some added criticism of Dan. The RDSD promises to fix the healthcare system (which Dan broke), the cost of living crisis (which Dan caused), end the Woke Agenda (which was also Dan’s fault) and remove various lobbyists and powerbrokers (who Dan hired). They’re a few steps away from promising to burn Dan and anyone suspected to be associated with him at the stake in the village square.
Finnigan certainly had their mind firmly set on Daniel Andrews to the point of obsession. And fair enough, we’ve all had grievances with a politician. But was this passionate hate affair for Dan authentic?
What happened to the RDSD?
Later in 2022, Glenn Druery claimed to be the founder of RDSD in a leaked video.
“I could have called it the Pro Jet Trails Party, I could have called it the Port Arthur Conspiracy, I could have called it the Whacko Crazy Lunatics Party but I didn’t. “Every other party was (saying) sack Dan Andrews, sack Dan Andrews, sack Dan Andrews and I was like, ‘Ah ha. We are going to call them the Sack Dan Andrews Party’. And we did. We, me and my allies. “That has been formed because if that gets a decent draw it is going to completely usurp Clive, One Nation and poor little Aidan. Little bitty Aidan. He’s not smart.”
Aside from Druery’s confession, Finnigan is the only person associated with RDSD who can even be verified to exist. Furthermore, the RDSD domain name is viclabor.org, and the name of the person who created the website is hidden.
A fake party created with an ulterior motive is not shocking, but it certainly changes the context of the RDSD party.
