Jan. 3: Arnold Schwarzenegger steps down as California “governator” on Monday, defending his record to the last — and keeping fans and others guessing about his next move.
After seven years at the helm of the Golden State, the former champion body builder turned Terminator movie megastar and businessman is leaving his adopted home mired in huge financial woes. But as he prepared to hand over power to Democrat Jerry Brown two months after November 2 polls — Arnie stood by all his decisions.
“History will be the final judge of my administration’s record,” he said in his last weekly radio address. “But I leave office proud of what we have accomplished.” “I am especially proud that we were never afraid to ... Make the tough choices, and set aside ideology in favour of compromise. At times this cost me politically. But I always acted in the best interests of California’s future.”
While he impressed many with his transformation into a liberal Republican and green champion who won re-election in 2006, his poll ratings slid in recent years, in line with California’s dire economic fortunes. A budget crisis in 2010 pushed California, which would have been the world’s eighth largest economy if it were a country, to the brink of bankruptcy, sending its credit-rating plunging and forcing it to pay bills with IOUs.
But while commentators will pick over Mr Schwarzenegger’s political legacy here, many are watching closely to see what the 63-year-old will do next — notably whether he will return to the movies. In an interview with the LA Times in December, he acknowledged he has many other options, from writing his autobiography to the speech-making circuit, to business projects or even a behind-the-camera role in Hollywood.
“From the health industry, to the environmental side, to the political stuff, to writing books, to giving speeches — all of those kinds of things. There’s a huge variety of different doors that can open,” he said. It is all a long way from his humble beginnings in a small town near Graz in eastern Austria.
In 1968, after winning a string of body-building contests, the penniless 21-year-old came to the United States to pursue his passion. He earned a business and economics degree from the University of Wisconsin, became a millionaire while winning the Mr Universe title four more times.