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Federal election

Inside the circus: a week on Albanese’s campaign roadshow

Capital Brief spent the first week on Anthony Albanese’s campaign — where every selfie, stumble and stage-managed stop tells a bigger story.

Finn McHugh
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Anthony Albanese's first campaign stop was sidetracked by an impromptu photo session in a gym. Lukas Coch.

Weeks — months even — go into choreographing the prime minister’s movements on the election trail. Those plans can go out the window within minutes.

Anthony Albanese’s staff hadn’t yet ushered him into his first press conference when there was an unexpected detour. Gym-goers, spotting the prime minister’s BMW pulling into a suburban Brisbane car park, coaxed the leader inside for an impromptu meet and greet.

Photographers waiting inside the urgent care clinic, where Albanese was scheduled to tour, suddenly rushed across the road and into the gym. Delighted citizens and stressed professionals formed a throng around the new arrival.

There is a surreal, manufactured quality to the campaign trail. AAP/Lukas Coch.
There is a surreal, manufactured quality to the campaign trail. AAP/Lukas Coch.

Labor staffers stood on tiptoes to peer in, anxiously hoping their leader wasn’t covered in baby vomit or fending off an angry protester. They needn’t have worried. A few selfies and handshakes later, and the prime minister was on his way.