The Albo thing is wearing thin. ‘Keep calm’ doesn’t cut it anymore
Anthony Albanese’s approach to leadership was vested in his belief in himself as the character known as “Albo”, who enjoyed a special relationship with ordinary Australians. Four years into his time as PM, the goodwill has worn off.
His method did not deny Labor’s regular role as the greater change agent in politics as much as suppress it. Labor governments have traditionally come to power either at times of crisis – during or just before the world wars, the Great Depression and the severe recession of the early 1980s – or by diagnosing serious policy problems in need of prompt rectification. Always, they were invested with a sense of urgency. Under Albanese, there was a list of things to address, including climate change and workplace relations. But the urgency, underpinned by a coherent narrative about the government’s larger strategy and purpose, was hard to find.
There was a lot that was wrong with the structure and practice of our economy when Labor came to power in 2022, the housing market being the best and most widespread example, and the addiction to immigration as the chief driver of economic growth coming in second. Throw in the stagnation of wages and productivity, plus a lack of business innovation, and there was a lot to deal with.
Essentially, too many Australians have eventually found themselves in hock because of the long property bubble that started at the advent of this century. From these broken settings, many of the government’s woes flow. Albanese could have said, after coming to power, that things were worse than he had been led to believe and a major post-pandemic policy rethink was unavoidable. After campaigning with the slogan “Bringing Australians Together” in 1983, Hawke and his treasurer Paul Keating did something like that in their first year of office. They embarked on a policy revolution, remaking the economy.
But that was not Albanese’s way. His modus operandi as leader was tailored to suit his strengths – and his limitations. His understated demeanour, the strong nasal voice accessing a less than expansive vocabulary, and his deep interest in physical infrastructure were all key features. Erudition can be overrated as a political gift. Malcolm Turnbull was the most erudite and intellectually capable of recent prime ministers but almost lost the one election he fought as leader.
By and large, Albanese profited initially by not looking like he was putting on airs and graces or being too clever. But sometimes you have to be a bit clever to get yourself out of political troughs, and the ability to tell a sophisticated story simply and persuasively is the central way to do that. This is the weakness of the “taking down the temperature” approach. When the public is raging about its cost of living troubles, suggesting everyone just calm down won’t cut it.
