I don't have a key, and had picked it clockwise, so it must be possible in the clockwise direction as well.
I had been holding the shroud in while pulling the post out, lots of jiggling and shaking while trying different angles. When I was about to give up it almost fell right out onto the floor.
After re-reading that last bit I thought I'd add the following:
The second paragraph is much more amusing if you have a slightly twisted mind
