Why the next Prime Minister must make restoring Victoria to national prominence a political priority

Make no mistake, there is tension between Albanese and the Victorian government.

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Victoria is falling apart and it’s Australia’s problem.

That means Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton – whoever wins – will need to play a key role in rebuilding a state that represents a quarter of the national economy.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan can’t fix the joint because she’s too wedded to the past, and already has backflipped on the Commonwealth Games when she was in charge of running it.

Killing the $34bn first stage of the Suburban Rail Loop is the widely supported option to bring Victoria’s budget under control, but Allan is digging in to the point that her position as leader is rapidly becoming untenable.

State Labor is doing so badly in the polls that it looks possible the government will fall at the end of next year.

That is a long time to wait for a government with emphysema to finally run out of puff.

In the broad Labor movement there is open discussion about Allan being punted for right-wing minister Ben Carroll, who is not in the SRL-must-stay camp.

The Socialist Left is also starting to bare its teeth amid speculation Transport Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams wants to be promoted to deputy.

All of this uncertainty – Victoria also lacks a permanent police commissioner – is piling the pressure on federal Labor, which is fighting the election on one leg as the chaos around the state government continues.

For too long, Victoria has been seen by the major parties as a third-rate entity behind NSW and Queensland.

Victoria has had one prime minister since Bob Hawke left the job in 1991, and Julia Gillard, who was caught up in the ALP leadership knifing fiasco, has done nothing to call out the fiscal vandalism that has been committed in the past 12 years in the state she called home after moving there for university. Gillard is a former chief of staff to Victorian Labor leader John Brumby.

Nor has former federal Labor leader Bill Shorten. And the living premiers who pre-dated Daniel Andrews have not done enough publicly to pressure the government to deal with its spending.

There is unquestioned tension between Canberra and the Allan government, with the state government wanting more assistance for the SRL.

But any “rescue mission” of Victoria has to be minus the SRL and requires a greater emphasis on the private sector that goes beyond Allan’s laughable housing policy, which will also be acting as a drag on federal Labor’s vote.

Make no mistake, there is tension between Albanese and the Victorian government, just as there was tension between Canberra and Spring Street in 1990.

Albanese plans to win this election. If he does, fixing Victoria – a debacle of Labor’s making – needs to be at the top of his agenda.