Anthony Albanese at risk of knocking himself off ALP platform

Anthony Albanese has taken on a risky strategy, and has similar approval ratings to Bill Shorten.

Anthony Albanese has directly challenged Labor’s national platform as the party continues to retreat from policy fights with the government it knows it can’t win.

Minimum mandatory sentencing has long been a battleground of fundamental principle for Labor. By shelving it in the name of political exigency, Albanese has again persuaded the caucus to support a position that defies the party’s ideology.

And he has justified it with a questionable claim that Labor is now faced with a repeat of 2004 when the Coalition had control of both houses of parliament.

Albanese is proving just how pragmatic he can be by pushing the limits with caucus yesterday and convincing colleagues that some fights are just not worth having. Particularly those that can’t be won.

“We will often be confronted with circumstances where we will vote on an issue which includes measures we agree with and measures we disagree with,” he told caucus, according to a Labor spokesman.

“That is exactly what happened with tax and it will keep on happening.”

But the Labor leader’s admission of political impotency may not wash for long with a caucus starting to collectively wonder why it continues to back government policy it opposes on principle.

It also risks reinforcing a perception of a feeble opposition.

Albanese got the job unopposed after a factional play to stop others contesting, including his Left colleague Tanya Plibersek. And public support for his leadership is soft.

The first Newspoll since the election shows the new leader’s approval ratings comparable to Bill Shorten’s early days as leader.

His long-term authority is not assured.

This would not have been lost on Shorten, who yesterday, while taking some personal responsibility for Labor’s loss, also suggested, oddly, that the nation would be disappointed.