PETER VAN ONSELEN: The alarming reason why Anthony Albanese shouldn't miss his favourite junket of the year

The first tangible evidence of the new year suggests that the more voters see of Anthony Albanese the less they like him. This week, he's been back in NSW campaigning in western Sydney marginal seats, but the latest polling numbers suggest Labor might be better off if Albo was hidden from view. Anthony Albanese enjoys an incecream at the 2023 Australian Open Anthony Albanese and his fiancee Jodie Haydon watch the Men's Singles Finals match at the Australian Open in 2024 It is unusual for opposition leaders to surpass prime ministers on the preferred PM ratings, given that unlike incumbents, they don't have a track record in the job. Albanese's early campaigning blitz hasn't prevented his already sluggish personal support from sagging even further Albo has long been regarded to be a weak campaigner, having performed poorly even in a winning election campaign in 2022. To win majority government on its own at this year's election, the Coalition would need a national swing of five per cent in its favour on the two party vote, winning just shy of 20 additional seats.