To change Australia, Albanese will need to be prepared to tip the scales

PM Anthony Albanese. ‘The once firebrand activist has been … wary of the consequences of venturing too far from the centre ground and, instead, committing himself to the long game of maintaining power.’ Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Last week’s balanced budget is an emphatic punctuation point for the first year of the Albanese Labor government. The issue is whether it’s an exclamation mark or a question mark.

This government’s dogged pursuit of balance is not just in the top-line budget numbers, but in managing the global forces buffeting the economy while dealing with the immediate needs of the economically vulnerable and the intense pressures on mortgage holders.