Politics is about winning, and federal Labor needs to take a long hard look at itself. Out of office since September 2013, and having lost the "unlooseable" election with Shorten in May 2019. Albanese, Albo to his mates, seems to be a decent enough chap, but decent chaps rarely win elections. Labor lacks a leader with the charisma of a Hawke, or the drive of a Whitlam and the backbone of a Keating. Beyond Albo the Labor ranks are mostly lacklustre run of the mill politicians, people like Marles and Chalmers, just don't cut the mustard as leadership material.

Where can Labor find a leader that can knock over a mediocre government and a rather ordinary PM? Look at the Western Australian state election on Saturday, Mark McGowan and the Labor Party absolutely annihilated the Tory opposition. Certainly the biggest win at a state level in modern times. What did I say about politics and winners, McGowan's the man, Labor just has to find a way to get this bloke to Canberra, and find a nice politicians retirement home for Albo at the same time.

>abor lacks a leader with the charisma of a Hawke, or the drive of a Whitlam and the backbone of a Keating
So do the Libs, but that's never stopped them!

The WA Premier's won in a landslide, but there'd be a backlash if he doesn't serve out his term. So he may have a bright future in Federal politics, but it won't be any time soon.

Meanwhile there don't seem to be any great problems with Albo, nor any obvious replacements.

Dear Paul,

I think that picking a new leader on any side of politics is not going to be an easy task. Politics seems to be a "team" game.
Like football - the party chooses their leader - and of course
all parties prefer winners not losers. I agree that Albo is
probably a decent chap - but he doesn't inspire the electorate
so you're probably right - he needs to be replaced. And soon. By whom? Your guess is as good as anyone's. As for Scott Morrison?
Judging by his performance to date - he's going to be difficult to beat - especially by Albo.

Squeezing funds out of a revenue-making Conservative Govt as a Labor Premier is a lot easier than being a Labor PM with a Labor Govt unable to create the funds !

So-called leaders are not everything, and while the left might think Albo can't cut the mustard, there are many people on the right who are very disappointed with the value-free Morrison. The two parties are still 50:50 and, in fact, federal Labor inched ahead in a poll immediately after the WA state election.

I must say I thought Morrison would be tougher than he turned out to be, he is however miles ahead of anyone Labor have in their ranks at present.
The problem with Labor is that their policies are aligned with Union demands & no matter how good a leader they get, the Unions will help them get into power & then expect to get rewarded to no end. This is compounded by the fact that many in their ranks are ex Union !
The only expertise they have is in demanding what the Nation can't afford !

individual,

There seems to be a consensus among the pundits that Labor has dropped its union roots and has taken up with the inner-city 'elites'. I think the workers and the conservatives are pretty much bereft of any representation these days.

ttbn,
Yes, the Unions have dropped the blue collar brigade in favour of the more lucrative, much more self-preservation orientated white collar Army. The Public Service Union has no qualms sending the rest of the Nation's workers to the wall as long as its members can continue to roll in excessive & utterly unwarranted salaries !
The remuneration imbalance has now reached the stage where only a salary cut followed by a salary freeze of Public Service bureaucrats' salaries is the ONLY option !
It has become pointless & even counter productive to give blue collar workers little pay rises which only sets them back even further in the equality stakes !
The point is that too many Australians get paid too much for doing just about nothing !

The point is that too many Australians get paid too much for doing just about nothing !

I should have said .... too many "able-bodied, working age Australians".....

It's past time to be comparing useless, self-serving politicians of any brand. They are all the same: totally unworthy of our support.

During the China virus, which they have made an utter dog's breakfast of, the political class and the 'mandarins' have been in clover - even getting pay rises when thousands in other sectors have lost their jobs, many for ever; and many employers will never make a comeback.

The Treasurer rants about a rise in GDP; but that has occurred only because of maniacal government spending which has raised a debt that as yet unborn generations will be paying off.

Dear paul1405,

This is Friendly Jordies take.

http://youtu.be/ANbG67vUgXs

At the 10 minute mark he talks about Albo's style and why he thinks he is getting it right at the moment.

It was Newspoll on the 14th. that had a landslide win to Labor, even with Albo, if an election had been held that day. Leaders, weeders; of no great concern to the electorate because they don't get to vote for them. Unfortunately, the PM's are getting much more presidential in style, disregarding the cabinet government you don't hear them talking about at all these days. Perhaps there is a message for us there. We should be having a say in who is the most powerful - pretty much the only one - person in our politics now.

State leaders never manage to transition to the Federal sphere. When was the last time we saw a spectacularly popular state leader go federal with any real success?

I well remember how this exact same thing was said of Neville Wran in the mid 1970s when Labor was trying to recover from the debacle that was the Whitlam leadership, and Wran was winning landslide elections in NSW. But Wran was too smart to be sucked into such thinking.

So McGowan ain't coming and if he did it'd be a crock.

You've gotta feel a little sorry for Albo and indeed all the opposition leaders around the country. In times like this, when the populace have been scared into submission by a severe flu season, those people are rallying around the flag and supporting whoever is in power. Massive government wins in QLD and WA, NSW talking of turfing their Labor leader, Vic doing likewise for their opposition leader. Leading an opposition is no fun just now.

Albo's best hope is that the election happens next year after the vaccine has allowed a modicum of a return to life as we knew it, and people's thoughts have turned to things other than the WuFlu. For the same reason Morrison will want to go asap.

The WA Libs got exactly what they deserved. Their radical green & anti coal policies, opposed by Labor cost them all support. With any luck Morrison will be looking hard at the result, & will toughen up somewhat on foolish renewables & electric cars stupidity sweeping the world.

Those like china, & those western nations, who get off the band wagon first will be major winners. Lets hope we are among them.

I see the Liberal leader 'what his name' in Victoria just avoided the high jump yesterday. The bloke in WA didn't need to resign, lost his seat in the Labor landslide. Things are so desperate for the Liberal Party there, with about 3 members, the nutty Nationals are going to become the official opposition with 4 members. In Queensland, another good Primer in Annastacia Palaszczuk and her strong Labor government smashed the LNP a little while back. Although in government both the NSW and SA Liberals are looking very uninspiring with corruption enquires and poor handling of the pandemic, they should be the next to roll. At a state and territory level the only bloke holding his ground for the Liberals is 'what his name' in Tasmania.

Paul1405,

I've found Labor's new leader!

This guy respects women and would never call a girl a lying cow:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBe_guezGGc

Just got to Asianize him so that he can be a true Australian.

We'll teach him to say things like "Ni hao Mate!"

Paul wrote: "Although in government both the NSW and SA Liberals are looking very uninspiring with corruption enquires and poor handling of the pandemic, they should be the next to roll. "

"NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay would lose her own seat and the party would suffer its worst primary vote in almost 120 years if a state election were held now, according to internal polling that is likely to put further pressure on the embattled opposition leader."

"The government’s handling of the pandemic was also polled, with 72.9 per cent of people either satisfied or very satisfied, while 40.6 per cent personally credited Premier Gladys Berejiklian with the success."

http://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/ten-wasted-years-nsw-labor-polls-just-23-9-per-cent-of-primary-vote-20210314-p57ajg.html

Poor old Paul lives his entire life with one eye closed and then wonders why the world doesn't turn out as he hoped.

Hi mhaze,

I don't keep up with NSW state politics these days, and I stand corrected on the Labor position down there, thanks to your link. I say Jodi McKay is about as inspiring as Albo. I never had much time for NSW Labor when I lived in Sydney, as I abandoned the party many moons ago. To be truthful I preferenced the Liberals in about half a dozen state elections, long before Obeid and others, I was not a fan of the Sussex Street Labor right. At times I don't think they thought much of me either, Queensland ALP not accepting my membership application, maybe I told too much of the truth.