On Wednesday night in Sydney, Paul Keating was joined on stage by history professor and The Australian Financial Review contributor James Curran, who has just published a new biography of the legendary former prime minister and treasurer.Curran reminded Keating of a quote that probably sums up Keating’s world view – and nails everything that’s wrong with Australian politics right now: “Timidity is like a virus in the bloodstream.”Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles