Returning Victorian premier Daniel Andrews says ugly political campaigning must end
Victoria’s premier, Daniel Andrews, has described Labor’s third consecutive election win as a rejection of the politics of division, while vowing to rebuild trust with voters in the outer suburbs who abandoned the party.
Labor is on track to win more than 50 of 88 lower house seats and could yet exceed the 55 it won at the 2018 “Danslide” election, despite its primary vote dropping by about 6% and swings of more than 15% in Melbourne’s northern and western outer suburbs.
On Sunday morning, the premier vowed to govern for all Victorians and said the “clear majority” of the state had rejected an ugly campaign.
“They said, ‘No, we want a positive plan’,” he told reporters. “Our politics might be divided but our community is united. Whether you voted for us or not, we’ll work hard and get things done.”
The campaign was punctuated by violence at election booths, accusations that the Coalition had preferenced “Nazis” above Labor candidates, as well as allegations of vote-rigging and political interference.
News Corp’s Herald Sun actively campaigned against Labor, and also reported on Andrews’ fall down steps at a holiday house last year and a nine-yearold traffic accident involving his wife.
“We’ve seen some pretty nasty stuff, and on behalf of my booth workers and my volunteers and my electorate staff, people who voted for me, friends and family … there’s no place for that,” Andrews said.
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“We can disagree, but that violence, just some of the commentary, some of the partisanship, that doesn’t do