GLADYS Berejiklian has wasted no time getting on with the task of leading NSW through the COVID-19 pandemic following her most harrowing day yet in public office.
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The Gladys Berejiklian that faced the media on Monday afternoon, just hours after giving evidence at an Independent Commission Against Corruption hearing that exposed her long-term (but since ended) relationship with disgraced former MP Daryl Maguire spoke in the same assured manner we have seen from her every day since the start of the pandemic, but she was clearly squirming beneath the surface.
Ms Berejiklian has been a constant presence in our lives over the past six months, providing daily briefings on the state's COVID performance and restrictions.
Sometimes she has delivered good news, but more often bad, and sometimes she has had a less-than-subtle dig at the performance of other state leaders.
Before that it was Ms Berejiklian's leadership through the state's bushfire crisis that won her plenty of praise and plenty of new friends and she entered the last few months of a terrible 2020 in a seemingly impregnable position as premier. Until Monday.
The revelations in ICAC have cast doubt on both Ms Berejiklian's integrity (did she know more about Mr Maguire's dodgy dealings than she has let on?) and her judgment (what was she doing with him in the first place?).
And NSW opposition leader Jodi McKay wasted no time in calling for the premier's immediate resignation, including a threat to bring a vote of no confidence in parliament if Ms Berejiklian refused to go.
Ms McKay labelled the premier a "fraud" who had been "unmasked" by the revelations at ICAC, and said the premier had been "complicit in the corruption".
It was stirring, powerful stuff and guaranteed Ms McKay the sort of exposure she could have only dreamed of a couple of days ago, but will it come to anything? Probably not.
Since Monday afternoon there has been a constant stream of state Liberal MPs fronting the media to assure Ms Berejiklian she has their full support, but what will really count in the long run is the judgment of the broader community of NSW.
As Ms Berejiklian again fronted the media on Tuesday for another COVID update, she was keen to put Monday behind her.
As the next days and weeks roll on, she is hoping the people of NSW will do the same.
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