Scott Morrison downplays possible federal election implications from stunning SA Labor win

Scott Morrison is not concerned about SA Labor’s stunning election result having implications on his own federal race, declaring “Anthony Albanese is no Peter Malinauskas”.

Scott Morrison has downplayed possibly devastating implications for his re-election chances after SA Labor became the first party to topple an incumbent state Premier during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Prime Minister declared defeated Steven Marshall “turned the state of South Australia around”, brought businesses back to the state and “ran a good show”.

“Elections are tough and I am sure that those involved in the specifics of elections, campaigns and how they are run will look carefully at the tactics that were employed,” Mr Morrison said in Sydney on Sunday.

Mr Marshall became the first incumbent Premier to lose an election during the Covid-19 pandemic, as Premier-elect Peter Malinauskas swept into power in a landslide result on Saturday. Political commentators have remarked the result shows the power of incumbency is over.

Labor’s national president Wayne Swan said Mr Malinauskas’s win “should have all (Coalition) MPs trembling”.

“This was not just about rejecting Steven Marshall’s government – it was a rejection of the Liberals’ brand,” he told The Guardian.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the SA state election was run on state issues only, suggesting he wasn’t concerned about it having implications for his own federal election race. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

Mr Morrison said he was not concerned about the result having implications on the federal election, expected to be held in May.

“The new Premier made this very point even before the polls were opened, and that was that this election was being fought on state issues,” he told reporters.

“The federal election will be fought on federal issues and what I know is that (Opposition leader) Anthony Albanese is not Peter Malinauskas.

“He’s not any of the other Premiers, he’s not (Queensland Premier) Annastacia Palaszczuk, he’s none of these … he’s the federal Labor leader.”

Mr Morrison said there was a “big difference” between Mr Albanese and the performances of his state Labor colleagues.

SA Labor Senator Penny Wong said Mr Morrison was a “drag on the Liberal vote” in SA.

“I saw numbers that suggested that one in two South Australians – one in two – were less likely to vote for Steven Marshall when they were reminded that he and Scott Morrison were of the same party,” she told the Today Show on Sunday morning.

Mr Marshall announced he would step down as leader of the SA Liberal Party on Sunday afternoon.

[e-mail]

Originally published as Scott Morrison downplays possible federal election implications from stunning SA Labor win