1000 days: Twilight zone for Anthony Albanese

Anthony Albanese, who on Friday marks the 1000-day mark since the 2022 poll, has entered the election twilight zone with one thing on his mind – beating Peter Dutton and becoming the first Prime Minister since John Howard in 1998 to win a second term.

Anthony Albanese has entered the election twilight zone.

Anthony Albanese has entered the election twilight zone and left behind the Canberra bubble with one thing on his mind – beating Peter Dutton and becoming the first prime minister since John Howard in 1998 to win a second term.

Albanese, who loves a sporting analogy, is channelling his beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs in hoping his government can bounce back, like the Bunnies, who finished second last on the NRL ladder last year.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sporting a Souths scarf. Picture: David Swift

The Labor leader, who wore his Rabbitohs tie and socks during what most believe was the final parliamentary sitting week before the election, is confident he will lead his troops like master coach Wayne Bennett and be as match fit as Latrell Mitchell.

Albanese, who on Friday hits the 1000-day mark since the 2022 election – Dutton says it feels more like “10,000 days” – will enter the election campaign with one of the smallest first-term government seat buffers in history.

Labor ministers, MPs and staffers are certain they won’t be back in Canberra and that Jim Chalmers’ March 25 budget will not proceed. In what was likely the final question time of the 47th parliament, Labor and Coalition MPs resembled a group of restless kids waiting for the bell to ring on their final day at school.

All eyes are on next Tuesday’s Reserve Bank board meeting. Labor figures believe if the 4.35 per cent cash rate is cut for the first time since 2020, they can use the moment as a turning point and proof their economic plan is working.

Albanese and Chalmers, who turn 62 and 47 on March 2, will be hoping for some birthday luck during what looms as an ugly election campaign.

ALP strategists believe that while you can beat a long-term government without much meat on the bones, similar to Albanese’s defeat of a wounded Scott Morrison in 2022, it is more difficult to oust an incumbent after a single term.

The question for Labor is; what do they have to offer voters to win a second chance? How will they fix the cost-of-living and housing crises, keep Australians safe and end social division?

Without a healthy surplus of first-term seats like those won by Howard, Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd, Albanese needs a miracle to win majority government. He’s also not immune to volatile economic and geostrategic conditions that have battered incumbent governments.

Albanese, who is fond of the political era that existed before the madness of 24-7 media cycles, social-media channels and misinformation, will join Dutton in campaigning via podcasts, TikTok, Instagram and Chinese platforms such as Little Red Book.

For all of Albanese’s confidence in winning majority government, Labor expects to lose up to 10 seats. Swings gained on the back of Morrison’s unpopularity will evaporate in every state and territory.

Albanese this week moved ahead of Australia’s first prime minister Sir Edmund Barton on the list of Australia’s longest serving PMs. Currently sitting 19th on the list, Albanese is 18 and 71 days behind Rudd and Gough Whitlam on the list.

He is desperate to avoid the 1931 election fate of James Scullin, whose Labor government was the last to be dumped after a single term, turfed-out in a landslide defeat.