‘Who is this guy?’ Anthony Albanese cops brutal questioning

The Opposition Leader has been battered with brutal questions about his biggest problem with voters, with the PM himself weighing in too.

A noticeably fired-up and reinvigorated Anthony Albanese fronted the media on day four of his election campaign in an apparent bid to put his disastrous Monday gaffe behind him.

The Labor leader appeared more relaxed, poised and refocused today after stumbling over basic economic questions on Monday in an epic free kick for the Coalition.

On Thursday morning, Mr Albanese mingled with nurses at Cessnock Hospital within the Hunter electorate to spruik his plan to strengthen Medicare and fund 50 urgent care clinics across the nation.

But it didn’t take long before he was confronted with perhaps his biggest problem of the campaign – voter perception.

A new Australian Financial Review poll has exposed a brutal reality for the would-be PM – that he is considered to be “dull, disinterested, uninspiring and too negative”, with swing voters leaning towards Scott Morrison, despite his general lack of popularity.

Central to this belief is that so many Aussies seem to struggle when it comes to defining who Anthony Albanese actually is, with many voters seeing him as an unknown risk.

That lack of visibility, coupled with Monday’s snafu, could be enough to secure Mr Morrison a second term on May 21, and it was seized upon by Mr Morrison himself this morning, describing his opponent as a “complete weathervane” in response to a question on asylum seekers.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese was slammed with brutal questions about his perception. Picture: Toby Zerna

“Who is this guy? That is what Australians are asking. He has had three years to tell them who he is,” Mr Morrison told reporters.

“People know me. Some people disagree with me, some people agree with me. Some people don’t like how I say some things and other people do.

“You know who I am. When it comes to border protection, the people smugglers know who I am.”

And naturally, Mr Albanese was also battered with harsh but important questions about his popularity by reporters.

“A recent focus group which is published today in the AFR said that neither you nor Scott Morrison are very impressive, but the least unimpressive is Scott Morrison. And then the criticism of you is that you’re dull, disinterested and uninspiring. What is your reaction to that and how are you going to change people’s perceptions of you?” he was asked.

However, while Mr Albanese was caught off guard by questions on the cash and unemployment rates on Monday, he appeared to be more put-together and well prepared for this tough line of questioning, and determined to stick to his key messaging.

“I am who I am…I think what people are interested in is who has a plan for Australia’s future?” he said in response.

“I have a plan for the future, to plan for more secure work, to plan to strengthen Medicare, to plan for making more things here, and it’s a plan to take pressure off the cost of living.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison brought up Albo’s big problem in his own press conference. Picture: Jason Edwards

He was also asked why the latest polls show people still don’t know who he is or what he stands for, despite the fact he has been in politics for 20 long years.

“Well, I’m concentrating on putting forward my plan for a better future for Australia,” he said.

“I am making sure that I’m out there again with candidates. Day after day as I’ve been in this region, I think (this is) my fourth visit to the region just this year.

“And there’ll be a strong team for the Hunter, which will be a part of a strong Labor government that has a plan for a better future for Australia with strengthening Medicare, with more secure work, and with cheaper childcare.”

However, despite Mr Albanese’s renewed confidence, he was somewhat overshadowed by Paterson MP Meryl Swanson, who delivered an passionate and energetic speech to gathered reporters about her plan to transform her region into a tourism hub.

Thursday’s press conference ran for well over 20 minutes, after Mr Albanese was slammed after walking away from a press conference after just eight minutes – a move interpreted widely as a sign the ALP had changed tactics and was attempting to tighten his public appearances and better control the message.