Anthony Albanese (Image: AAP/Joel Carrett)

Let the real Albo stand up! Here comes the rallying cry for a robust, left-wing Albo, the one who “fights Tories” and appeared with Jeremy Corbyn at a UK “Politics in the Pub” event. 

Stirring words indeed, in the op-ed pages of The Australian, from, erm, Cameron Milner — former Queensland ALP state secretary and firmly ensconced in the Labor Right. How courageous and helpful of Milner to suggest, in the public prints, that we don’t know the “real” Albo, days out from an election start. 

Doubtless Milner’s intent is nothing other than a desire to maximise Labor’s chances, and it’s only a coincidence that it conforms to the right-wing narrative that Albo is a Che in a wolverine’s clothing, using a small target strategy to conceal his alleged radical leftism. Some would say that tying Albo to Corbyn, a man publicly trashed, has more costs than benefits, but Milner is urging us to let it all rip! Inspiring!

Indeed, it’s all the more so because Milner has for decades been associated with Bill Shorten, doomed to be mostly dudded by a PM Albo. He returned to Shorten’s office as chief-of-staff (which he notes) having been a lobbyist for Adani (which he leaves out). Before that, and before he moved to Queensland, he was a students politics hack, a consigliere to Kimberley Kitching’s widower Andrew Landeryou, effectively his junior (if you can imagine that). 

Milner left Melbourne sometime after Landeryou was sacked as University of Melbourne Student Union (UMSU) president by a recall referendum. After a stint in Queensland ALP, he jumped out and sold them back his expertise through his company Next Level Strategic Services, which also has a roster of corporate clients. It’s fair to say that Next Level’s access to a PM Albo office will be low level, possibly zero. 

How generous of him then to raise the question of Albo’s electability, when he might well be advantaged by another Labor loss, and a third tilt by Bill Shorten at the leadership for the 2025 election!

I think we can all agree that what Albo really needs to win is to be more closely tied to Jeremy Corbyn. Truly we’re all pulling together in this contest, though what’s being pulled varies. Solidarity forever!