<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe first shows Albanese at the Vesbar Espresso caf\u00e9 in Marrickville, holding an unhappy dog on his lap. The composition of the photograph is uninspiring, the car in the background appears to be careering into Albanese\u2019s head, it\u2019s poorly lit. Albanese is blandly dressed and, aside from two people far away in the background, there is no one else in the photograph. It\u2019s an incredibly poor piece of political communication, with little attention to detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second photograph is of the Prime Minister at the Malvern Hotel in Melbourne. Here we have Morrison pouring a beer at a colourfully-lit bar, with federal MP, Katie Higgins. There\u2019s engagement, there\u2019s energy, there\u2019s a sense of action and anticipation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Which leader would the electorate prefer, especially those swinging voters who decide election outcomes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, Morrison\u2019s actions are choreographed in conjunction with the mainstream media and the showreel of images and video all arrive onto his carefully curated social media accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Media massaging and political stunts shouldn\u2019t need to be the primary function within politics but in the modern age of social media, the speed of politics, and an electorate distracted with so many other matters in the world, they are essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adeptness in the performative aspects of politics creates the first few rungs for a political party to at least engage with the electorate and have a chance of being listened to. And it\u2019s difficult for any Opposition to win elections if only a few people are listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The midway point of current parliamentary term has passed and although the next federal election can be held as late as 3 September 2022, there are strong suggestions there will be an election much earlier. The earliest available date for a standard half-Senate is 7 August 2021 \u2013 less than eight months away. What will Labor do to engage the electorate with the issues it wants to highlight during the next election campaign?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Low expectations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n The high-water mark for Albanese was his Budget Reply but, in relation to all other matters, this should have been the stepping-stone for the next stages of the political cycle. Supporters of Albanese have been quick to point out that the Budget Reply was a sign the \u2018Albo of old\u2019 had returned; the game of \u2018fighting Tories, that\u2019s what I do\u2019 had started up again. But another period of hibernation commenced: since Albanese\u2019s Budget Reply, there\u2019s been little of note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s easy to focus on the COVID-19 pandemic or the biased persuasions of the mainstream media for the reasons why the Labor Party can\u2019t get its messaging out. Defenders of Labor\u2019s current strategy suggest despite Morrison\u2019s overwhelming approval rating, the current polling shows Labor close to a winning position at 49\u201351% of the two-party preferred vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s obvious but being close to a winning position is not<\/em> a winning position, and reminiscent of the \u2018near-enough-is-good-enough\u2019 leadership of Simon Crean and Kim Beazley. What will the strategy be if the effects of COVID-19 continue up until the next election?<\/p>\n\n\n\nAnd the mainstream media won\u2019t be in a hurry to change its traditional negativity towards Labor, especially if there\u2019s a leader they\u2019ve shown very little interest in. Realistically, which external factors will change before the next election?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A government sitting on a knife-edge<\/h3>\n\n\n\n With mismanagement that goes all the way back to 2013, and clear cases of corruption and poor governance, the Liberal\u2013National Coalition is a government waiting to be removed from office. But governments \u2013 even those riddled with corruption and mismanagement \u2013 are never toppled easily. And, judging from his performances so far, Albanese is not the leader sufficiently engaged with a strategy or a process to defeat this government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Labor\u2019s current political performance and behaviour seems to be that of a party reacting badly to a landslide election loss, but the reality is that it only lost one seat when compared to the 2016 election, and the Liberal\u2013National Coalition currently holds onto government by a wafer-thin majority of one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the devastating Labor loss in 1996, Kim Beazley\u2019s main achievement was stabilisation \u2013 and making Labor competitive again, to the point where they almost won the 1998 election. When Crean become leader after the 2001 election loss, he reformed the Labor Platform and the internal workings of the party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under Albanese, Labor is meandering. For sure, the COVID-19 pandemic has made life for Opposition political parties difficult, although it can be argued that for all the difficulties and lack of opportunities available to Labor, they won the Eden\u2013Monaro by-election campaign in July, and achieved a greater-than-usual swing in the recent by-election in the seat of Groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are small victories, and their relevance should not be overlooked. However, there are many issues to take into account: Labor\u2019s media management is ineffective; the lessons received from the 2019 election loss haven\u2019t been fully appreciated; there is a growing belief among some MPs the next election is unwinnable for Labor; better to focus their attention on the 2025 election and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And this final issue is the one that will consume Labor over the coming months, if not weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of the 94 members of the Labor caucus, 53 have never served in government. How restless is the younger generation of Labor MPs? Are they willing to add another three years to an almost-decade long wait before they can finally become a part of government?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And will the longer-term members be satisfied on the Opposition benches for yet another term? Will Penny Wong decide to extend her 18-year political career by another three years, if she feels it\u2019s likely to be in Opposition? Or will Tanya Plibersek feel that after only six years of government in a career spanning 22 years, it\u2019s also not worth the wait? Many of these have been tireless campaigners and advocates for Labor, but surely another three years of the thankless task of Opposition is asking for too much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The media is disinterested with Albanese, and whenever announcements are made, there\u2019s not much for the media to engage with. And in these circumstances, the media deflects to the trivial \u2013 as was the case when a toddler inadvertently knocked over a microphone during Albanese\u2019s policy announcement on early education and childcare \u2013 which then became the main news item, rather than the announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The wrong answers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n The government has $380 billion at its disposal for stimulus support and reframing the economy, and while most of the stimulus support applied so far has been effective, there is also much that has gone to waste \u2013 $21 million to Bunnings, at a time when their profits have increased by 19 per cent. <\/p>\n\n\n\nSolomon Lew.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nBusinessman Solomon Lew received a dividend of $24 million after his retail group, Premier Investments, received $70 million in stimulus support from the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Albanese\u2019s response? He focused his criticism elsewhere and onto the 875,000 workers receiving a higher income through JobKeeper, compared to pre-COVID conditions, adding billions to national debt \u2013 even though the figure is relatively small, and national debt is not playing out as a political issue during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why would a national Labor leader even think about saying this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Project Albanese\u2019 hasn\u2019t reached expectations and has largely been ineffective \u2013 and, perhaps, Albanese\u2019s role has been to stabilise the Labor Party while it makes a transition to a future generation of leadership. Afterall, no incoming Leader of the Opposition immediately after an election loss has led their party into government since Robert Menzies in 1949.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Morrison will be a difficult opponent to defeat at the next election \u2013 whenever it is called \u2013 but his authority is built on a thin and weak fa\u00e7ade. Cracking this fa\u00e7ade will be critical for Labor, but the current leadership is barely making a chink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u2018everyman\u2019 shtick by Albanese has been fruitless. Midway through this election cycle, other methods and a different leader are required to defeat Morrison: tear down Morrison, and Labor will win the next election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a basic equation that needs to be resolved urgently, because which Labor MP wants to sit in Opposition for another three years?<\/p>\n
The post Is time up for Albanese?<\/a> appeared first on New Politics<\/a>.<\/p>\n\nThis post was originally published on New Politics<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" <\/p>\n
Many years ago, I attended a community meeting to listen to a political newcomer many considered to be a rising star within the Labor movement. […]<\/a><\/p>\nThe post Is time up for Albanese?<\/a> appeared first on New Politics<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":556,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441,1757,1760,1761,583],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6655"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/556"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6655"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74079,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6655\/revisions\/74079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}