Anthony Albanese’s sledge towards Prime Minister Scott Morrison on 60 Minutes
Labor leader Anthony Albanese has unleashed on his opponent Scott Morrison in a revealing and blunt interview.
Federal Election
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It’s Anthony Albanese like you’ve never seen him before.
He’s lost weight (18kg). There’s fresh specks and trendy suits but now his eyes are solely focused on the prize of winning Australia’s top job.
But for the opposition leader, what led to his unrecognisable ‘glow up’ was spurred by a near-death car accident last year that the 59-year-old thought would lead to his end.
Just days into 2021, Mr Albanese was rushed to Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital following a car accident in Marrickville in the city’s inner west.
Mr Albanese’s Toyota Camry was struck by a black Range Rover being driven by a 17-year-old — resulting in an initial condition more “complex” than originally thought, with both internal and external injuries sustained.
Speaking to journalist Karl Stefanovic on Channel 9’s 60 Minutes, Mr Albanese said he was sure the accident would result in his death.
“Did you think you were going to die?” Stefanovic asked the opposition leader of the accident.
“Absolutely,” Mr Albanese replied. “It was an extraordinary moment where it was … it was just factual. This is how it ends.
“It made me absolutely determined to make a contribution to the country.”
Mr Albanese said the accident lead to a re-evaluation about his life, and in turn, an 18kg shed.
“I’m hungry … I want to be match fit,” he said of the shed, and also the upcoming federal election.
And match fit indeed, with the opposition leader throwing a few early punches towards his opponent Scott Morrison.
Mr Albanese has drawn equal to Scott Morrison on the question of who is the nation’s preferred prime minister.
For the first time in two years, he is sitting on the same level of support, a rare development for opposition leaders that sometimes occurs before a change in government.
According to the latest Newspoll published in The Australian, Mr Albanese is rated as the preferred PM by 42 per cent of respondents - an increase of 2 percentage points.
Mr Morrison is unchanged at 42 per cent.
The two-party preferred result is unchanged with Labor retaining a commanding lead of 55 per cent to 45 per cent for the Coalition.
When asked whether he thinks the sitting Prime Minister is a “liar”, Mr Albanese was quick to throw down his vote.
“Scott Morrison’s got an issue with the truth,” Mr Albanese said.
“He has said things to me that are simply untrue. He stood up in parliament. Why he did it is beyond me … and said that he texted me about where he was going when he went to Hawaii. That’s not true.”
Mr Albanese believes this election, the Australian people won’t be easy to impress following two years of pandemic upheaval, natural disasters and political scandals.
“I think people are far more cynical about our opponents [Liberal party],” he said.
“This time around they know what Scott Morrison’s form is and therefore they’ll be more sceptical about what the government’s saying.
“You look at even the photo ops this time, whether it’s the shampooing hair or … dare I say it, the ukulele playing … the welding without lifting up the mask before you weld … people look at it and go, ah, that’s not really his job.”
“I’ve seen it and heard it. And then now it can’t be unseen unfortunately”.
Mr Albanese’s appearance follows Morrison’s sit-down with Stefanovic last month, where the Prime Minister entertained the seasoned journalist with a homemade margarita and a few tunes on the ukulele.
But the much-hyped interview with Mr Morrison turned to be a ratings fizzer for Channel 9, with the episode almost 200,000 viewers down from the week prior.
574,000 people across the five metro capitals tuned in to the ‘Meet the Morrisons’ segment, highlights of which included the PM serenading viewers with a ukulele performance of the Dragon classic April Sun in Cuba. It meant 60 Minutes was beaten in its timeslot by British crime drama Vera on the ABC, which drew 587,000 viewers. It was also a steep drop-off from Married At First Sight, which was watched by 961,000 viewers in the five metro capitals in the timeslot before the Morrisons appeared on 60 Minutes on Nine.
60 Minutes is broadcast on Sunday nights at 8.40pm
Originally published as Anthony Albanese’s sledge towards Prime Minister Scott Morrison on 60 Minutes
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