A wide-brimmed hat owned by Bendigo publican Andrew Lethlean announced it will throw itself into the ring ahead of November's Victorian state election, challenging Premier Jacinta from Bendigo for the seat of Bendigo East.
The hat, who goes by Brimmy, has listed crime, cost of living and housing affordability among its priorities - issues it has been sitting above for years, watching quietly, absorbing everything, saying nothing, until now.
"At some point, you stop wearing the hat and the hat starts wearing you," Lethlean, the man underneath Brimmy, told The Bendigo Standard.
Brimmy is currently polling ahead of several other hats in the region, including a weathered Akubra that refused to comment and a visor with no known political affiliation that has nonetheless begun doorknocking.
Jacinta from Bendigo, who has held Bendigo East since 1999, has not announced a hat. Political analysts say this is either a carefully considered strategic masterstroke or a catastrophic oversight.
One analyst, who asked not to be named, stared briefly at the sun before offering: "People like hats."
Whether Bendigo East is ready to be represented by a hat remains to be seen. Brimmy, for its part, has never been more certain of anything in its life.
