An air of desperation has now crept into the senior ranks of the Albanese government as it turns defence of its self-made immigration disaster into attacks on Peter Dutton.
As despicable as the latest salvo on the Liberal leader has been, there is no evidence that the demonisation of Dutton has been, or will, work for Labor.
On the contrary, it is Anthony Albanese approval ratings that have been going backwards over the past six months
If anything, Dutton has been gaining ground on the Prime Minister.
The latest confected outrage, in the form of claims by senior Labor Ministers that Dutton was a protector of pedophiles is not only defamatory but typical of an undergraduate mentality.
The fact that it was repeated on Thursday morning confirms this is a sanctioned line of attack from the Prime Minister’s office.
Dutton this morning called for Anthony Albanese and Aged Care Minister Anika Wells to apologise.
They should.
This type of over-reach never works. In fact, it has every chance of backfiring badly.
It is more likely to hurt Albanese’s numbers more than it will Dutton.
Since July, it has been the Prime Minister whose approval ratings have plummeted.
In fact, more people are now dissatisfied with Albanese’s performance as than Dutton’s
Dutton’s approval ratings on the other hand have remained stable. Nothing Labor has thrown at him has made his position worse.
It is Albanese’s position that has worsened. His net approval rating of minus 13 is now level with Dutton.
And Dutton has been making ground on Albanese as preferred prime minister. There is only an 11 point margin between them – more than half of what it was six months ago.
Not that Dutton is going to win any popularity contests. But that is not the test he needs to pass for the coalition to be reelected.
Albanese is clearly a leader under pressure.
But he’s not going to solve the government’s problems by endorsing outrageous attacks on Dutton.
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