This Month
Will Ley and O’Brien have enough vaudeville to keep their jobs?
These days staffers are more likely to focus on a nifty video for social media. But no matter the medium, politicians still need a bit of performance to cut through.
Albo dancing a diplomatic two-step to control tensions with China
Rather than adopt Scott Morrison’s He-Man approach, Anthony Albanese has taken Kevin Rudd’s advice and turned down the volume of Australia’s Sino strategy.
June
Ley’s Liberals must not listen to Tony Abbott on gender quotas
The party’s first female leader has just five other Liberal women alongside her in parliament, and still these men are ruling out the one thing we know works.
Relax, a Trump-Albanese meeting matters less than you think
The talk about the prime minister’s now scrapped meeting with the US president at the G7 Summit has felt like a full-scale freakout.
What Sussan Ley can learn from John Howard’s ‘lazarus’ moment
When the opposition is looking hapless, and you’re pondering why she even bothers, the new leader can look to John Howard, Tony Abbott – and even herself
May
Like the Liberals, Jacinta Allan needs rescuing from her echo chamber
Smart governments learn lessons from victory as well as defeat. There is no sign of that yet in Victoria.
How Albanese learnt from Labor losers and won big on Saturday
For six months, he has been privately telling his supporters that he had the plan to deliver Labor a second-term majority, and the skill to pull it off.
Who won the final week of the election?
We asked two former political staffers which leader has won the final week of the election.
April
Who won the fourth week of the campaign?
We asked two former political staffers which leader has edged ahead on the election trail this week.
Who won the third week of the election campaign?
With week three done and dusted, we asked two former political staffers to offer their verdict on which leader has edged ahead on the election trail.
Who won the second week of the election campaign?
With week two done, we asked two former political staffers which leader had edged ahead on the election trail.
Who won the first week of the election campaign
With week one done, we asked two former political staffers which leader had edged ahead on the election trail.
March
What Anthony Albanese must do to win
The PM needs to sell his message that better days are ahead, and make sure voters are concerned enough about Dutton to stick with the bloke they know.
Budget reply is Dutton’s chance to reset and regain mojo
Heading into the budget that was never meant to be, stakes are higher for the opposition because of the focus on the Coalition’s almost-empty policy offering.
Dutton marooned as Alfred puts the wind at Albanese’s back
The optics could not have been worse. Ditching your home state as it battened down the hatches for an almighty superstorm? What was the opposition leader thinking?
February
There’s no time like right now to put campaign heat on Dutton
Anthony Albanese should call an election as soon as possible. He needs the heat of campaign scrutiny to force voters to think hard about the choice between two very different leaders with very different visions.
Albo must copy ScoMo’s playbook and fight like hell
Consensus building is for the first 30-odd months of a government’s term or the start of a new one. Right now, it’s time for full combat, and Dutton’s fair game.
January
Dutton will wage ungentlemanly warfare on national security
Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison all ultimately failed to create their own winning ‘khaki campaign’. But it didn’t stop them from trying, and it won’t stop Dutton from trying either.
Albanese v Dutton: It’s grand slam politics time in Victoria
The prime minister will be hoping that voters can park their resentment at state Labor until after the federal campaign. But Coalition leader has his own issues down south.
December 2024
Anyone for tennis? Albanese needs to avoid the January jinx
A wander through some recent prime ministerial summers shows us that the season is stuffed with political danger.