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Modern Nats are being led over the cliff by donkeys

The Nationals’ decision to ditch net zero and risk another Coalition split isn’t principled. It isn’t even pragmatic. And it certainly isn’t...

friday 20

Lidija Ivanovski

Ley needs a few good days to give Libs hope after Rudd debacle

Less than six months into her leadership of the Coalition, the only thing going for Sussan Ley is that nobody else wants her job right now, writes...

27.10.2025 2

Lidija Ivanovski

Why Albanese’s stability could be his undoing

Anthony Albanese leads the most stable federal government in two decades by drawing a line on internal political drama. But stability can cause its...

14.10.2025 9

Lidija Ivanovski

No progress without power: Why pragmatic Albanese snuffed out republic

An older, wiser and battle-scarred prime minister has learnt the essential preconditions to the pursuit of long-term progressive politics.

05.10.2025 6

Lidija Ivanovski

Andrew Hastie is fighting the climate war like Tony Abbott

It’s clear that net zero is all but dead as a Liberal Party policy. What’s less clear is if this will kill off their hopes of returning to office...

21.09.2025 3

Lidija Ivanovski

Labor election ads will tell voters what Price thinks of Indians

Instead of pushing the government into a serious policy debate on housing and immigration, the Coalition continued its self-immolation thanks to the...

07.09.2025 9

Lidija Ivanovski

Chalmers had a cunning tax plan all along at the summit

Beyond the images and soundbites, the win for the Government was the appearance of an endorsement for its rough policy agenda for the next three...

25.08.2025 3

Lidija Ivanovski

Why roundtable will be bigger challenge than Chalmers’ wedding day was

The treasurer’s job in 2013 was getting through the nuptials without having a guest bring down the Gillard government. In 2025, his tougher task is...

03.08.2025 9

Lidija Ivanovski

Will Ley and O’Brien have enough vaudeville to keep their jobs?

These days staffers are more likely to focus on a nifty video for social media. But no matter the medium, politicians still need a bit of performance...

20.07.2025 7

Lidija Ivanovski

Albo dancing a diplomatic two-step to control tensions with China

Rather than adopt Scott Morrison’s He-Man approach, Anthony Albanese has taken Kevin Rudd’s advice and turned down the volume of Australia’s...

10.07.2025 7

Lidija Ivanovski

Ley’s Liberals must not listen to Tony Abbott on gender quotas

The party’s first female leader has just five other Liberal women alongside her in parliament, and still these men are ruling out the one thing we...

30.06.2025 10

Lidija Ivanovski

Relax, a Trump-Albanese meeting matters less than you think

The talk about the prime minister’s now scrapped meeting with the US president at the G7 Summit has felt like a full-scale freakout.

17.06.2025 10

Lidija Ivanovski

What Sussan Ley can learn from John Howard’s ‘lazarus’ moment

When the opposition is looking hapless, and you’re pondering why she even bothers, the new leader can look to John Howard, Tony Abbott – and even...

04.06.2025 4

Lidija Ivanovski

Like the Liberals, Jacinta Allan needs recusing from her echo chamber

Smart governments learn lessons from victory as well as defeat. There is no sign of that yet in Victoria.

23.05.2025 4

Lidija Ivanovski

How Albanese learnt from Labor losers and won big on Saturday

For six months, he has been privately telling his supporters that he had the plan to deliver Labor a second-term majority, and the skill to pull it...

05.05.2025 5

Lidija Ivanovski

Who won the final week of the election?

We asked two former political staffers which leader has won the final week of the election.

02.05.2025 9

Lidija Ivanovski

Who won the second week of the election campaign?

With week two done, we asked two former political staffers which leader had edged ahead on the election trail.

11.04.2025 3

Lidija Ivanovski

Who won the first week of the election campaign

With week one done, we asked two former political staffers which leader had edged ahead on the election trail.

04.04.2025 4

Lidija Ivanovski

What Anthony Albanese must do to win

The PM needs to sell his message that better days are ahead, and make sure voters are concerned enough about Dutton to stick with the bloke they know.

30.03.2025 3

Lidija Ivanovski

Budget reply is Dutton’s chance to reset and regain mojo

Heading into the budget that was never meant to be, stakes are higher for the opposition because of the focus on the Coalition’s almost-empty policy...

24.03.2025 9

Lidija Ivanovski

Dutton marooned as Alfred puts the wind at Albanese’s back

The optics could not have been worse. Ditching your home state as it battened down the hatches for an almighty superstorm? What was the Opposition...

13.03.2025 10

Lidija Ivanovski

There’s no time like right now to put campaign heat on Dutton

Anthony Albanese should call an election as soon as possible. He needs the heat of campaign scrutiny to force voters to think hard about the choice...

24.02.2025 20

Lidija Ivanovski

Albo must copy ScoMo’s playbook and fight like hell

Consensus building is for the first 30-odd months of a government’s term or the start of a new one. Right now, it’s time for full combat, and...

06.02.2025 9

Lidija Ivanovski

Dutton will wage ungentlemanly warfare on national security

Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison all ultimately failed to create their own winning ‘khaki campaign’. But it didn’t stop them from trying, and it...

23.01.2025 8

Lidija Ivanovski

Albanese v Dutton: it’s Grand Slam politics time in Victoria

The prime minister will be hoping that voters can park their resentment at state Labor until after the federal campaign. But Coalition leader has his...

09.01.2025 3