Dan Andrews breaks his silence in a fiery, foul-mouthed outburst against his critics – and reveals what he REALLY thinks about his ‘Dictator’ nickname

Daniel Andrews has hit back at his opponents, saying he was never bothered by being called a ‘dictator’ during his time as Prime Minister.

Mr Andrews said he didn’t care what people thought of him and said he had to deal with a lot of “nasty staff” during his time as Victorian leader.

He was undeterred by his blunt response to critics, calling it “after dark bulls***t” in a reference to Sky News Australia’s opinion-based evening political programs.

And he insisted he wanted to be remembered for being strong, driven and ‘getting s*** done’ by making big, hard decisions – even if they were unpopular.

“Dictator and all this stuff, that’s all fine if it makes people feel better by describing me in those terms… good luck,” he told the Social Democratic podcast.

The former Victorian leader who resigned in September after nine years in the top job said people are entitled to their opinions but it has never affected the way he runs the state.

“You know, in Victoria the haters hate and everyone else votes Labor. And that’s fine with me’

“They can call me whatever they want, but what really matters is not that nonsense, that noise, that vitriol, those bulls in the dark***.”

“What really matters and what makes up for all the nonsense is when you sit with families… and you listen, and you say, ‘Okay, that’s the plan. We’re going to get to work and do it.’ And then you do that… and you see the difference.”

Mr Andrews was branded ‘Dictator Dan’ due to Victoria’s repeated Covid-19 lockdowns, which have lasted on and off for almost two years since the pandemic began in 2020.

“There’s been some bad things, some ugly things, but… that’s life.”

The retired politician put his leadership to the test and it gave his fiercest opponents the spark they needed to come after him.

He said the tough decision he made several times to shut down Victoria helped him lead the state during one of the most tumultuous periods in its history.

“We made a lot of tough decisions, it wasn’t about being popular, it was about doing the right thing,” he said.

Mr Andrews, who gave 120 consecutive press conferences during the second phase of lockdowns, said it was difficult to tell Victorians that lockdowns would not be lifted.

“Everyone had come to the press conference and there was a real sense of anticipation that the lockdown would end,” he said.

Victoria spent two years straight in lockdowns after Mr Andrews was repeatedly forced to shut down the state, fanning the flames among his critics to resign from his leadership (photo Flinders Street Station in Melbourne)

Mr Andrews acknowledged that announcing the lockdowns was one of the toughest decisions he had to make as state leader (photo Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne)

“There was just a sense of despondency… it was a terribly difficult time and you knew the decisions you were making… had profound consequences for people.”

Mr Andrews resigned as state leader after calling a brief press conference to announce he was quitting, admitting that the 24/7 demands of the job had taken their toll.

Just two months earlier, he canceled the 2026 Commonwealth Games, citing a major cost explosion after it was due to be financed to the tune of $2.6 billion.