Why does everybody throw up their hands in horror at the thought of Sir Ti Liang Yang being selected as chief executive? He's a sweetie. And what's more he'd be good at the job.
That's the gist of a conversation From the Corridors had yesterday with a senior administrator who had worked closely with the Chief Justice.
'I suspect,' said our source, 'it's a case of the best being the enemy of the good. People still hope they are going to get Anson Chan (Fang On-sang), so they're rubbishing Sir T L Yang.
'He's an old-fashioned gentleman. Hong Kong could do a lot worse than an old-fashioned gentleman.' We put up a spirited offence of the opposite view. 'What about his administrative skills?' we cried.
Well, okay, admitted our source, he wasn't a good administrator. But he'd got staff for that. 'People think about government in these management terms nowadays. He doesn't need to be an accountant.' But he had a reputation as a weak man, we countered.
'He's not a tyrant. He's a nice guy,' came the reply.