Anthony Albanese’s big election win gives a big boost to Jacinta Allan

Premier Jacinta Allan voting in Bendigo this morning. Picture: supplied

Anthony Albanese might be the happiest politician in Australia on Saturday night, but Jacinta Allan is the most relieved politician in Victoria.

The Victorian Premier started the weekend knowing that a significant voter backlash in her state would potentially cost her big time.

After the 16 per cent collapse in Labor’s vote in the state by-election in Werribee, Allan knew the loss of a handful of federal seats in Victoria would be seen by her nervous state caucus colleagues as a vote of no confidence in her.

Had Labor copped a blast from voters, there is no doubt that Education Minister Ben Carroll would have started moving to roll the premier ahead of the November 2026 state election.

At 10pm, the votes were still being counted but the Liberals dreams of picking up a handful of seats had failed to materialise. Liberals had hoped to pick up Aston, Chisholm and McEwen but this has vanished.

In fact, Liberals were looking like losing the seats of Casey and Menzies in the east, with both sitting Liberal MPs fighting to hold their seats.

None of this is to say that tonight’s result guarantees anything for Allan; she continues to battle a law and order crisis and this month’s state budget will be ugly in terms of debt and high taxes. But you would rather be Jacinta Allan tonight than Brad Battin, the Liberal state leader.

Allan and Victorian Labor will be smart enough to know that she and the party still faces a fight to win a historic fourth term next year. The state’s finances are out of control and the anger exacted on the state branch by Werribee won’t disappear because of the federal result.

But Saturday’s result buys both Allan and Labor time at a state level in Victoria. And this combined with the Victorian Liberal Party’s talent for destroying itself will give the premier hope she can win in 2026.