Given Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are very different characters, it’s easy to overlook their similarities, or at least the commonalities in their circumstances.
They are both factional powerbrokers. Neither would top a list of people most likely to lead their respective parties but both have found their way to the top. Both have counselled prime ministers, and also risen up against them when it has been judged necessary by them for whatever reason. And both have taken over their party’s leadership after a catastrophic electoral defeat – Albanese in 2019, and Dutton in 2022.
