Jokes and gibes as future leader Josh Frydenberg ponders fate

Josh Frydenberg was handing out leaflets at the pre-poll booth in Kooyong when he noticed a missed phone call from none other than Anthony Albanese.

Despite the pressure, Josh Frydenberg looks relaxed as he campaigns at a pre-polling station in his Melbourne electorate of Kooyong on Tuesday. Picture: Simone Schroeder

Josh Frydenberg was handing out leaflets at the pre-poll booth in his Kooyong electorate on Tuesday morning when he noticed a missed phone call from none other than Anthony Albanese.

“I wonder what he wants,” the Liberal Treasurer said as he returned the unexpected call from the Labor leader, who was also in Melbourne.

For the next few minutes, the two political rivals – who could ­potentially be prime minister and opposition leader within less than two weeks – joked and ribbed each other over Frydenberg’s chances of winning Kooyong and over the size of his billboards.

“He (Albanese) said it’s a bad sign for you that you are on pre-poll,” Frydenberg recounted with a grin after ending the call.

“He just said ‘I am calling as a courtesy to let you know I’m in your seat’. He said ‘the size of your billboards are enormous, what do you call those?’ ”

Frydenberg, who told Albanese during the call that The Australian was standing next to him, conceded to the Labor leader that he was in a “battle royal” to keep his seat in Kooyong against independent Monique Ryan. He ribbed Albanese for running dead in Kooyong, saying “the Labor Party is absent here, Albo”.

It was a rare lighthearted and unscripted moment between political rivals in what has been an ­unusually shouty and tightly scripted election campaign.

But Frydenberg’s claim that saving his seat – and his political career – is a battle royal is an understatement, with new polling showing that he is trailing Ryan by 53 to 47 per cent on two-party-preferred terms.

That is why for every day of the rest of this campaign, Frydenberg will be manning the pre-poll booths of Kooyong to try to fend off the challenge from the so-called “teal” independent which threatens to strike down a potential future prime minister.

“It’s been encouraging; people have been positive,” Frydenberg said as he handed out leaflets to supporters – with his rival Ryan doing the same just metres away.

But on just the second day of pre-poll voting, voters in Kooyong were not in the mood to pull their punches about either of the candidates or the state of politics in Australia.

For much of the day, Frydenberg’s supporters gave him lavish praise alongside some not-so-­lavish assessments of a number of his parliamentary colleagues.

“I’ll vote for you but I’m sorry I don’t like your boss,” one older lady said to the Treasurer.

Another voter clutching a Frydenberg pamphlet came up and said: “We’re voting for you because we don’t want Peter Dutton – he’s a warmonger.”

Morrison and Dutton didn’t garner much affection from many of those who said they were voting for Frydenberg, while others just wanted to express their outrage that an independent could threaten the Liberal Party’s long hold on the blue-ribbon seat once held by Robert Menzies.

Monique Ryan, left, campaigns in Kooyong on Tuesday. Picture: Simone Schroeder

“I spoke with Menzies this morning and he sent his regards,” one wag quipped to Frydenberg.

At one point, a local magazine editor called Elaine Sharman walked up to Frydenberg and told him she was undecided about her vote and could he please explain the Coalition’s position on climate change.

After a five-minute explanation from Frydenberg of the ­Coalition’s policy, the 68-year-old Sharman said: “I’m going to stand by myself for a while and have a think about it.” She eventually cast her vote for Frydenberg.

Another woman pushed through the crowd of volunteers yelling out “go Josh, go Josh” and gave him a small gold angel and a card with the words “you are stronger than you think”.

One voter told the Treasurer she had run a travel agency for 43 years and thanked him for ­“saving our bacon” with Job­Keeper during the pandemic.

Ryan also attracted her share of brickbats and bouquets. One young man told her how much he “loved and respected the way you didn’t say which (major) party you would vote for (to form government)”.

He was followed by an older man who told the pediatric neurologist-turned-candidate: “You should have kept your old job.”

A few blocks away, Adam Rizzi, a 36-year-old business development manager, said he was planning to vote for Ryan after a lifetime of voting Liberal.

“I’m voting for Monique Ryan because of climate change and ethics – they are the two things that have shifted my vote from the ­Liberals,” he said.

“ScoMo’s behaviour has been appalling,” he added. “I think he is out of touch and I think we need more ethics in our politics.”

Adam Rizzi says he plans to vote for Monique Ryan after a lifetime of voting Liberal. Picture: Simone Schroeder

Elizabeth Dawborn, a mother of four who recently returned from living in Indonesia, said she had been shocked by how unimpressive this election campaign had been, but said she would be voting for Frydenberg in Kooyong.

“I don’t see Anthony Albanese as a serious candidate for leadership given his track record of mistakes and his policies. He doesn‘t have much of a profile, he is a blank piece of paper. And I don’t think Ryan is offering much beyond climate change policy,” Ms Dawborn said.

Elizabeth Dawborn says she will stick with Josh Frydenberg in Kooyong. Picture: Simone Schroeder

Retirees Cathy and Tom Park said they were shocked at the ­prospect that Frydenberg could lose his seat to a teal independent.

“He’s a fantastic local member and an excellent Treasurer and it would be a tragedy if he was usurped and lost his seat. It would be a loss for the country and for this community,” Cathy said.

“We don’t know anything much about the independent (Ryan). What is she thinking about education, about defence, about Medicare?” she added.

“In government, you have to worry about a whole gamut of ­issues, not just one or two.”

Her husband Tom agreed, saying: “It would be incredibly sad if someone of Josh Frydenberg’s stature is run over by someone who doesn’t have policies. I think that would be a travesty.”

Retirees Cathy and Tom Park say they are shocked at the ­prospect that Josh Frydenberg could lose his seat to a teal independent. Picture: Simone Schroeder

EXCLUSIVE: YouGov results for all 151 lower house seats — the most comprehensive poll ever conducted in Australia — in The Australian online tonight