Altair wondered if there was some hidden intent by the words I'm glad he has you now. Not a friend like. Though he doubted Thrawn would have told him about the nature of their relationship- it wasn't like him, after all, and it was hidden between the two of them in public, kept private. Despite the pity he could sometimes feel from the people who thought him to have a one-sided crush, and some occasional attempts to set him up with someone else, Altair preferred it that way. It felt special.

It was another thing he decided not to dwell on. Whether Eli knew or not didn't really matter.

His question made him laugh softly, "I haven't seen him in action dealing with politics all that much, but it's a bent he doesn't have, I think. Not that that's a bad thing..."

Politics were often two-faced, dishonest, manipulative. None of those were words he'd ever apply to Thrawn.

"Politics are... Complicated. You need to read between the lines, know that your opponents have different goals than yours even if yours may be the best course of action, and that they're probably not opposed to sugarcoating their words so that their benefit is ultimately greater than yours... I've never met a politician who's honest, and that crooked nature can be difficult to grasp... I was a politician of sorts myself, and honestly the amount of cards that aren't immediately put on the table..."

He shook his head. That someone as honorable as Thrawn was politically blind... Well, Altair did find that part of him charming, but it was disadvantageous, he knew.

"... I suppose that's what he has people like me for."