Absence makes the heart grow fonder… as they say… and it certainly seems to be true for Anthony Albanese.

The Labor Leader was laid up for a week with COVID, which would normally be an abject disaster for a leader in the middle of an election.

But the week out of the spotlight gave voters a chance to miss Albo, and in particular… miss the daily gaffes that were the trademark of his first week on the hustings.

Now Albo is out of iso, and has officially launched the party’s campaign and right here in Perth over the weekend no less… he seems like a different bloke.

And the polls agree.

The latest Newspoll has Albanese closing the gap on Scott Morrison as preferred PM…

ScoMo still leads 45 to 39 percent, but his lead has been shaved by three percent in a week… and all while Albo was sitting at home on the couch.

In terms of their parties… two major polls today… both have Labor enjoying an election winning lead if the results were replicated at the ballot box.

That’s pretty much been the case since the campaign started.

But the challenge for Labor has always been whether voters would see Albanese, as Prime Minister material.

While the latest Newspoll suggests he’s trending in the right direction in that regard, a bigger indication came from his performance at the Perth campaign launch on Sunday.

For a guy who just recovered from COVID Albo delivered an impressive performance… at an event that was entertaining and had good energy.

It also had our very own Mark McGowan which could be a factor when West Aussies vote on May 21.

Certainly that’s what Labor will be hoping, because picking up marginal seats in WA… could be the key to winning the election.

But as well as the Labor launch went, the real test starts now for Albo as he returns to the campaign trail and those daily confrontations with the media.

One stumble and all the ground he’s made up on ScoMo will evaporate, and people will again start to wonder if he has what it takes to be PM.

But if Albo gets through this week unscathed, well… you’d have to think he’s in the box seat.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder&hellip; as they say&hellip; and it certainly seems to be true for Anthony Albanese.
The Labor Leader was laid up for a week with COVID, which would normally be an abject disaster for a leader in the middle of an election.
But the week out of the spotlight gave voters a chance to miss Albo, and in particular&hellip; miss the daily gaffes that were the trademark of his first week on the hustings.
Now Albo is out of iso, and has officially launched the party&rsquo;s campaign and right here in Perth over the weekend no less&hellip; he seems like a different bloke.
And the polls agree.
The latest Newspoll has Albanese closing the gap on Scott Morrison as preferred PM&hellip;
ScoMo still leads 45 to 39 percent, but his lead has been shaved by three percent in a week&hellip; and all while Albo was sitting at home on the couch.
In terms of their parties&hellip; two major polls today&hellip; both have Labor enjoying an election winning lead if the results were replicated at the ballot box.
That&rsquo;s pretty much been the case since the campaign started.
But the challenge for Labor has always been whether voters would see Albanese, as Prime Minister material.
While the latest Newspoll suggests he&rsquo;s trending in the right direction in that regard, a bigger indication came from his performance at the Perth campaign launch on Sunday.
For a guy who just recovered from COVID Albo delivered an impressive performance&hellip; at an event that was entertaining and had good energy.
It also had our very own Mark McGowan which could be a factor when West Aussies vote on May 21.
Certainly that&rsquo;s what Labor will be hoping, because picking up marginal seats in WA&hellip; could be the key to winning the election.
But as well as the Labor launch went, the real test starts now for Albo as he returns to the campaign trail and those daily confrontations with the media.
One stumble and all the ground he&rsquo;s made up on ScoMo will evaporate, and people will again start to wonder if he has what it takes to be PM.
But if Albo gets through this week unscathed, well&hellip; you&rsquo;d have to think he&rsquo;s in the box seat.

If you enjoyed listening to The West Live for your daily news fix, then come and join us over on The Nightly Five.  Host Ben O’Shea continues to deliver punchy news and analysis, in a new podcast to get you in front of tomorrow’s news today!  Subscribe on your favourite podcast player and visit the thenightly.com.au

If you enjoyed listening to The West Live for your daily news fix, then come and join us over on The Nightly Five.  Host Ben O’Shea continues to deliver punchy news and analysis, in a new podcast to get you in front of tomorrow’s news today!  Subscribe on your favourite podcast player and visit the <a href="https://thenightly.com.au">thenightly.com.au</a>

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