Daniel Andrews vindicated in Victorian election that became a referendum on his pandemic response

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews says the election result vindicates the ‘tough decisions’ taken during the pandemic. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

If the Victorian election was indeed – as the opposition framed it – a referendum on Daniel Andrews, voters have resoundingly backed the premier and his response to the pandemic.

At the time of writing, Labor looks on track to secure 50 of Victoria’s 88 lower house seats, just five short of its emphatic 2018 “Danslide” victory.