Anthony Albanese wins, but it’s a victory by default for Labor

Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese at his Labor party function at Canterbury Hurlstone Park RSL with Penny Wong on left, son Nathan on far right and partner Jodie Haydon 2nd from right. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Anthony Albanese will be the next Australian Prime Minister … and he will set a swathe of new firsts in political history.

Albanese is an old school Labor story of a rise from rags to the Lodge and a left winger to boot. Good on him.

Anthony Albanese at Canterbury Hurlstone Park RSL. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

But these are the positive firsts. Not the least of other firsts will be a victory in a new age of political fragmentation when Labor’s win, hopefully outright, will be on the back of the Coalition being wiped out by a new independent movement in the inner city.

The old red and blue political divisions have been redefined between Labor and the Liberals to a red velvet in the affluent suburbs of the inner city and a blue collar in the outer suburbs and regions.

Both major parties had ridiculously low primary vote support which signals a permanent change in Australian voting patterns.

Just like the ALP of the old days facing a split in the progressive vote to the Greens, the Coalition faces a new split in the conservative vote to ill-defined independents who have handed Labor victory by default.

The Coalition failed in its attempt for a fourth term but the ALP was the beneficiary of a ragtag bunch of minor parties chipping away at the government from both sides.

Labor had wins and losses as did the Coalition, while the independents and Greens only had wins. There will be the biggest cross bench in Australia’s history and a Senate yet to be shaped.

There are extremely difficult times for Australia and testing times ahead for Albanese after a vote for change with little scope for real change.