As the results rolled in across Australia, Labor activists were experiencing two forgotten feelings. First, relief. The opinion polls that misled in the run-up to the 2019 election – when leader Labor leader Bill Shorten managed to lose the “unlosable” election to Scott Morrison – proved to be correct this time. And then, joy. One of their own had won. Anthony Albanese, the son of a single mother from public housing, would be the prime minister.
Watching from the UK, the British Labour Party probably shared those emotions, with an added third: envy. Albanese defeated a populist prime minister known for playing fast and loose with rules and for masking his incompetence by stoking the culture wars. Yet only a year ago, Morrison was riding high in the opinion polls.
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