How Albo danced around the bottom of the Labor bird cage and deftly hopped onto the perch knocking Shorty off.Albo picks up the pieces. A member of Labor’s Left must guide it back to the centre. His eagerness has startled many.By TROY BRAMSTON From InquirerMay 25, 2019
Anthony Albanese holds a doorstop at Henson Park Oval in Marrickville. Picture: John Feder
When Chris Bowen invited Jason Clare and Ed Husic into his Smithfield home on Sunday afternoon, he was given good news and bad news. The two Labor MPs — who also represent western Sydney seats — told Bowen they would support him running for the Labor leadership but added that it would be difficult to win.On Monday night, the three MPs, who share a flat in Canberra, spoke on the phone and Bowen confirmed he would run for leader. Earlier that day, Bowen called NSW Labor secretary Kaila Murnain, who is also convener of the national Right faction, and said he had not made a final decision.
He told her only on Tuesday morning he would run for leader, just before his formal announcement. Bowen’s heart was never really in it.
Meanwhile, in Brisbane, Jim Chalmers was weighing up whether to run. Chalmers told Bowen he was inclined to run for leader on Monday.
But Chalmers also said he was not inclined to run if Bowen was in the race. The two are friends. Chalmers, unsure of Bowen’s position, went on the ABC’s Q&A on Monday night and did not rule out contesting the leadership.
Earlier that afternoon, Tanya Plibersek announced she would not be a candidate for leader. This came as a shock. Plibersek had told Labor MPs throughout Sunday that she would run for the leadership and her supporters briefed the media accordingly.
Plibersek would split the Left vote in caucus, win a few from the Right, and a good deal of support from party members.
Bill Shorten supported Plibersek’s candidature. She also won the endorsement of Julia Gillard, who remains popular among party members. But Plibersek was urged by Anthony Albanese’s supporters to drop out and give him a clear run at the top job.
Plibersek withdrew from the contest, citing family reasons, which seemed odd given she was prepared to be deputy prime minister just days before. “I am very grateful for the support I have received from my colleagues, from party members and others, urging me to run for the Labor leadership,” Plibersek said.
“I have support, from across the party, to be elected leader … But now is not my time.”
Bunkered in Melbourne, Shorten had called around for Plibersek. He regarded her as a loyal deputy, a great talent and a close friend. But now Plibersek was out. So on Monday Shorten rang Bowen and encouraged him to run. Shorten wanted to stop Albanese. While Shorten said he had united his team, behind the scenes there were lingering tensions with Albanese.
In 2013, Shorten defeated Albanese in the party’s first vote of members and MPs to choose a leader. Albanese won 60 per cent of party members’ votes. But Shorten won 64 per cent of MPs. Shorten was victorious with 52 per cent of the overall vote.
Albanese was stunned; he was confident he would win. So was his campaign manager, Mark Butler, who breezily predicted it to colleagues.
Labor MPs, including those close to Albanese, say he was thinking of challenging Shorten on three occasions during the past six years: in the summer of 2015-16 after Malcolm Turnbull became prime minister and surged in the polls; in the aftermath of the 2016 election, not expecting Labor to win 14 seats; and again if Labor did not retain its four seats in the Super Saturday by-elections mid last year. Albanese was being encouraged by some in the NSW and Victorian Right factions to challenge Shorten.
But Shorten was the great survivor. He had been underestimated and always over-performed. That is until last Saturday. Labor was stunned by the defeat. Nobody expected it. Not Shorten. Not Labor’s campaign director, Noah Carroll, who told campaign headquarters staff on Friday that they would win. Ryan Liddell, Shorten’s chief of staff, expected victory too.
But as Labor’s hopes of victory collapsed on Saturday night, Albanese began thinking about the leadership. The Right faction had no plan B if they lost the election. They knew it would be almost impossible for a Right faction candidate to defeat Albanese given his popularity among party members. While the Right faction has a majority in caucus, it would not be enough to offset Albanese’s expected 70 per cent vote among members.
The NSW Right faction split over the leadership. Joel Fitzgibbon, Tony Burke and Kristina Keneally publicly supported Albanese, leaving many of their colleagues to question why they bothered to be in a faction that prized loyalty, mateship and tribalism. Bowen’s supporters say he had the backing of most of the NSW Right; his detractors dispute this and say he was damaged by being the architect of Labor’s tax manifesto. Bowen also had support in the Left, notably from Victorian senator Kim Carr.
As Shorten, his staff and Labor’s campaign team struggled to make sense of losing the unlosable election, Albanese was ready.
On Sunday morning, plans were finalised to announce his candidacy for the leadership at the Unity Hall Hotel in Balmain. Albanese informed Shorten by phone.
Albo's flight to the perch continues overleaf
Forum
Pages: 1
Albo's sprung already (Read 2016 times)
