Perrottet tried his best, but Libs were just too tired

He tried, but Libs were tired … outgoing NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet did everything in his power to revitalise a tiring government.

Shedding his conservative cloak, he tried to reclaim the centre in the face of a revitalised Labor led by Chris Minns, investing billions of dollars in early childcare education, reforming stamp duty tax, and a superannuation-style future fund for children.

But in the end, the barnacles accumulated by the Coalition over the preceding 12 years proved too much, as scandals after scandal, four different premiers and incessant factional infighting took its toll on the party’s already damaged brand.

Ironically, the government’s massive infrastructure spend may have also been its undoing, as growth areas in Sydney’s west were hit particularly hard by a lack of essential infrastructure.

Successfully tapping into these grievances, Labor swept through Western Sydney delivering the party a majority.

Dominic Perrottet and his wife Helen vote at Beecroft Public School. Picture: Julian Andrews

While Liberal sources said the anger towards the government was not as searing as that directed towards Scott Morrison during the federal election, ultimately the result was the same, delivering Minns into majority and the likely loss of multiple seats to teals and independents.

The struggle for the soul of the party will recommence, with genuine fears the result demonstrates the Liberals are facing an existential crisis.

Can the “big tent” continue in its current form? Or will the party need to radically reinvent itself in the modern day.

Liberal supporters watch the screens at the party’s Hilton Hotel election night gathering. Picture: Damian Shaw

Running a disciplined campaign, Labor leader Chris Minns played to his party’s strength, tapping dissatisfaction with the privatisation of roads and power assets, and tying that into grievances about cost of living pressures facing households.

Labor sources believed a major strategic misstep for Mr Perrottet was his attack on Labor’s call to remove the public sector wage cap; as was his attempted defence of the government’s asset recycling program.

Mr Perrottet was faced with a near impossible task: trying to convince voters to trust his government to deliver a better future while grappling with a litany of issues confronting the state’s essential services.