By Byron Kaye

SYDNEY, (Reuters) – When Anthony Albanese, the Australian opposition leader, was just 12 years old, he claims he organized a rent strike to keep his mother’s property in public housing from being sold to developers.

In an attempt to avoid divisive policies that have diminished its advantage in national elections, the Labor Party’s campaign is highlighting Albanese’s hard work and image of a pragmatic unifier in order to win this month’s election.

However, his cautious stance that relies heavily on his humble origins and many years in public service has led to unexpected risks during the campaign trail. Media attention has been drawn to perceived policy mistakes when he failed details regarding the unemployment rate and the party’s plan for disability insurance.

John Phillimore is the executive director of John Curtin Institute of Public Policy. He stated that “I was somewhat surprised” that he wasn’t as ready at the start for campaign intensity.

But there is campaigning, and then there is ‘what’s their ability to become a government official? His governing style would be suited to someone who is a good team player.

Albanese (59) entered Parliament in 1996, just when Labor was entering the second decade of long opposition periods. From 2007 to 2013, the party was back at power but it was marred by disagreements over leadership, in which Albanese openly criticised each side.

He earned a reputation over those years as someone who was willing to collaborate with anyone, including as Leader in the House. This is where he ran the government business for the parliament.

Labor lost the 2010 election and was left with the first minority government for 70 years. It had to gain support from independents or conservatives in order to pass legislation. However, it was Australia’s most productive parliament according to one indicator cited in political commentators.

Craig Emerson (NYSE) was the trade minister of that government.

Albanese’s friends and family say that his mix of pragmatism, concern for justice and pragmatism is what drives him. He complained about his mom’s broken stove as a teenager to the councilman.

Albanese said that he was inspired by the experience and vowed to continue helping others like him. He also recalled how his mother was disabled, so he relied on the help of neighbours to get food.

Morrison is the conservative prime minister and rarely speaks of his suburban, middle-class upbringing.

CAUTIOUS INTINCTS

In addition to the cautious reactions on both sides before the May 21 elections, leaders are careful not to scare voters with talks of big policy shifts in a time where pandemics, wars, inflation and climate change have all made it difficult for voters looking for comforting voices.

Opinion polls showed Labor still holding a middle-single digit lead. But, three years back, Labor had a similar lead. And polls also indicate that Morrison is slightly less popular than Albanese.

Media has picked up on Albanese’s mistakes on policy details and the fact that he forgot the unemployment rate the first day in his six-week campaign. It undermined his credibility, as Labor had promised to provide job security for workers casuals and create hundreds and thousands of jobs in green energy during the transition from fossil fuels.

However, the government has been subject to negative press from conservative parties in traditional areas of strength, such as national security and economy. This was first caused by China signing a security agreement with the Solomon Islands, and then the rise in interest rates that followed, more than 10 years later, by rising inflation.

Rising numbers of climate-conscious voters from affluent areas of Sydney and Melbourne are now supporting independent, environment-focused candidates in traditional conservative seats. This has led to speculation that either party could win an outright majority. It also raises the possibility of another minority government.

Albanese’s succession as prime minister would be the culmination of a long career that started with the rent strike in his childhood, and his involvement in student politics. He studied economics when he was the first member his family to go to university.

He was 22 when he was elected President of Young Labor. At the same time, he worked as a researcher under Bob Hawke’s economic reformist government, Labor’s longest-serving Prime Minister.

Robert Tickner (a former Labor member) said that Anthony has “a capacity to see beyond the party-political alignment”. He was the one who answered the teenager Albanese’s question about the stove in his mother’s kitchen.

Tickner told me that Tickner believes that the community is full of people who are good-willed. He’s not a member of any sect.