Not too far out from a now very likely May federal election, the transformation of Anthony Albanese is almost complete.
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In 2022, the Labor leader hopes to displace a drained and pandemic-taxed three-term Coalition government. Amid nationwide exasperation and fury over the hit of Omicron and insufficient supply of rapid antigen tests (RATs), the Prime Minister's luck may have dried up. Scott Morrison's core demographic, middle-aged men, is starting to turn. There may or may not be a second "miracle" win for Mr Morrison. It is the Coalition's election to lose over the next few weeks, but Labor has a lot to prove as well.
The Opposition Leader has sometimes flown under the radar, with the pandemic response putting the federal focus squarely on the Prime Minister, but the unofficial, COVID-affected election campaign is on in earnest.
"I'm going for the big double this year. A federal election and a 22nd premiership. We'll see how we go," said Mr Albanese on Thursday, nodding to his South Sydney NRL team.
He's been on a health kick, and more, as he seeks to take on the best habits of past Labor heroes. He has to prove he has both substance and the "ticker" for the top job.
The Labor leader looks to comparisons with Bob Hawke - a consensus prime minister who brought Australians together after eight years of Liberal rule under Malcolm Fraser. But there's another Prime Minister, a Labor hero and nation builder, that he's really seeking to emulate.
Perhaps, of late, even physically. We will get back to that later.
Though scarcely recognised outside the party faithful, the name of World War II prime minister John Curtin has been sprinkled in the Labor leader's speeches and press conferences over the past two years. As well, a certain Curtin-esque ethos is growing as an ALP pandemic response, easily evident in Labor's 2022 election slogan promise to build "A Better Future", and pledges for a National Reconstruction Fund.
"Curtin certainly is the one with the halo on the Labor side," ANU political historian Dr Frank Bongiorno told The Canberra Times.
"They'd want to channel the ways in which he was able to present Labor as the party of the national interest, not of a sectional interest. That was a great success and triumph of Curtin during the war, and was the basis of his massive victory in the 1943 election.
"They would want to channel his ability to maintain a kind of vision for domestic policy and post-war reconstruction, despite the challenges of fighting a war.
"They would want to channel his capacity to put aside perhaps some of his convictions and beliefs in the interests of dealing with a national emergency and dealing with the hand that history had delivered him."
Is Mr Albanese becoming a Curtin echo? He is offering himself as a non-radical "safe" leader, and rebuilding post-pandemic is presenting as the party's broader mission.
It is extremely notable that Labor's shadow cabinet has been using as a bible a 2015 book by the late historian Stuart Macintyre, describing the building of modern Australia after World War II under Mr Curtin and later Labor prime minister Ben Chifley, advised by economist and public servant Dr H.C. Coombs.
Australia's Boldest Experiment: War and Reconstruction in the 1940s contains those government's plans for, among other things, full employment, assisted immigration and advancements in social security.
Consciously, or unconsciously, Mr Albanese has also taken on some of Mr Curtin's physical stylings.
Like all party leaders, he takes advice from image consultants, and one ALP insider says a "lot of work has been done here". But we are also told the new glasses are cheap and from a local optometrist.
He changed his diet and drinking habits over a year ago, to become skinny - or "lean and hungry", as his supporters describe him. The considerable weight loss impresses even detractors in the party, who say it "shows commitment".
"I had a major car accident and spent some time in Royal Prince Alfred Hospital experiencing our health system at close hand," Mr Albanese told MIX 94.5 radio on Thursday. "That really makes you think about your health. And before then, I'd started to get a bit fit, but I kept going. And I'm quite pleased with how it's gone. I feel better for it."
Mr Albanese has sought not to be negative during the pandemic, but as the vaccination rollout debacle developed, the Labor leader has piled on - although he's been careful not to pick fights with the states. Just this week he backed West Australian Premier Mark McGowan as he again chose to keep the state shuttered.
At every opportunity, Mr Albanese reminds voters that "Scott Morrison does not have a plan". Whether the message is sticking or not, his job is to say Labor will do better. Or to borrow from Joe Biden, "Build Back Better".
"It's beyond my comprehension how they can rack up $1 trillion of debt and have no substantial legacy to show for it. Where's the reform?" he told radio 4CA Cairns on Thursday.
Labor MPs who spoke to The Canberra Times on condition of anonymity to discuss election prospects freely say there has been a noticeable shift in the political winds.
Omicron's transmissibility and quick spread across the nation is enraging the already exasperated. People seeking RATs and facing queues and empty shelves are looking for someone to blame.
"This summer, I felt for the first time a genuine prospect [Scott Morrison] will lose," one said. "The people most vicious were middle-aged men. They have turned on him. They say he is not doing his job.
"'Dickhead' was the most used word."
Another said, "We are competitive now. If they called an election a year ago we would not have been."
Yet another felt Labor was just ahead, but added there was a long way to go. The COVID curve appears to be flattening in NSW, and the MP said the ALP needed to broaden the fight.
Labor MPs are regarding the coming federal election not only as a referendum on the government's COVID response, but as a referendum on the entire life of the Coalition government. It's about the past nine years in power, not the past two and a half.
Scott Morrison, a noted master political manager, had just nine months in the job at the 2019 election, but he is running after a full term now, and has a record to defend. Mr Albanese has only, so far, rolled out a limited number of policies.
But there are still many factors in play, and the polls got it so, so wrong in the lead-up to the 2019 election. The ALP's task to take eight seats for victory remains a big one. Sydney seats such as Reid and Banks will have to be won.
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Mr Albanese is different to his predecessor Bill Shorten. Despite being in Parliament since 1996, there is an unknown quantity to him. Until he assumed the leadership, he'd always been seen as a backroom player or tactician. He was Labor's dogged and knowledgeable infrastructure specialist, in government and opposition. Not a glamorous portfolio, but important and integral to the rebuilding now being championed. Yes, there is the "DJ Albo" side to him that spins alternative music and promotes craft beer - but it never made him seem like a potential prime minister.
Both sides, of course, look for dirt. Or even just a story that will stick. The government was able to paint Mr Shorten as untrustworthy in 2019. What's in store for the current leader? The member for Maribyrnong remains one of the sharpest, most effective members of the ALP frontbench. One of the other effective Labor performers, Tanya Plibersek, has been very quiet of late.
Amid the Omicron fallout, it's easy to say in hindsight that perhaps the Prime Minister should have called the election in November. Plenty could, and will, happen over the next few weeks. In particular, the budget - which is expected to address the Morrison government's perceived lack of a post-pandemic plan.
The Labor leader will pitch his plan to rebuild Australia in a major speech at the National Press Club in Canberra on Tuesday. The pandemic has exposed skills shortages and problems in manufacturing and the healthcare sector. Casting back to the 1940s, Mr Albanese will say it won't be enough to build Australia back the same; the nation needs to come back stronger.
"My candidacy is not just about getting rid of the current government. It's about the government that will replace it," he said on Friday.
Australians, perhaps more engaged than ever with politicians telling them what they can and cannot do, want more from their leaders. Everyone knows someone affected by the pandemic now, and the prime ministership in 2022 is well and truly in play.
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