Political leaders almost always leave office on a wave of unstoppable unpopularity.
Scott Morrison. Kevin Rudd. John Howard. Julia Gillard. Malcolm Turnbull. Bob Hawke. Paul Keating. Their rise, and then their unceremonious fall, all chronicled in the history of our nation.
But so too is a legacy each of them left; a mighty decision or act or law that will be attributed to them, long into our future.
John Howard and gun reform. Kevin Rudd’s apology to the Stolen Generations. Julia Gillard and the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Malcolm Turnbull and same-sex marriage. Scott Morrison and Covid. Paul Keating and native title. Bob Hawke and the modernisation of our economy.
In each case they seized a moment, and used it to change lives; to create a lasting legacy.
For Anthony Albanese, it was going to be the same, with a once-in-a-generation Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum – until it was botched.
And now, the Prime Minister is left largely as the key character in a half-written story still in search of a plot.
Turning the tide on domestic violence should be his story; one that rewrites........