While Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have spent decades in the political spotlight, both are using the start of a new year as a bid to change their standing among voters before a federal election.
An election date has not yet been set, but both major party leaders have wasted little time at the beginning of 2025 to start a quasi-campaign, complete with rallies and funding announcements.
With the election due to be held by May 17 at the latest and a hung parliament looking likely, the major parties have thrown the political rule book out the window, RedBridge Group director and former Victorian Liberal deputy state director Tony Barry says.
“The political orthodoxy is that there’s no politics until Australia Day as everyone’s on holidays and relaxing and getting ready for back to school,” he told AAP.
“But with (just weeks) to go until polls open, they don’t have that luxury.”
The start of the unofficial campaign has seen the prime minister roll out announcements on infrastructure spending and promising to “build Australia’s future”.
The opposition leader has been attempting to win back ground for the coalition in Victoria and leaning into a message of law and order and get Australia “back on track”.
Mr Barry said both leaders had been attempting to play to their party’s strengths early on.
“(Mr Albanese) can’t run on his own record, otherwise he’s dead meat … Labor’s message is clearly research based about building a better Australia and they have to build hope and optimism,” he said.
“They have to convince Australians the plan is working and to let them finish it.”
Anthony Albanese has returned early from the Christmas break to start campaigning for an election. (Dominic Giannini/AAP PHOTOS)
The RedBridge director said a growing pessimism among the voting public, fuelled by cost-of-living issues, had entrenched the opposition leader’s strategy going into an election year.
“Dutton is wisely playing to his strength rather than try and reinvent himself. Too often politicians try to neutralise the situation by pretending to be someone they’re not,” he said.
“He’s used his differentiated leadership attribute of strength versus weakness and Anthony Albanese is seen to be a weak leader … the perception of Dutton being strong is what voters are looking for right now.”
Political historian at the Australian National University Joshua Black said it was not too late in the term for the major parties to shift the dial before the election.
“The data shows us that lifelong voters for a particular party are a increasingly a thing of the past and they’re increasingly willing to change each election,”” Dr Black told AAP.
“Both parties are investing money into programs they perceive to be historic strengths for them.
“(Early election campaigns) are increasingly a feature of the last political generation or two.”