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Anthony Albanese has offered his commiserations to Peter Dutton, insisting that the former Opposition Leader will be ‘successful’ in life outside politics. The Prime Minister told Brisbane’s Nova FM radio station that he had ‘an okay relationship, a professional relationship, if you like’ with the former Liberal leader.
‘It’s really tough for him and his family as well,’ Albanese added. ‘I’m not sure what he will do, but I’m sure he’ll be successful in other arenas as well.’
Dutton suffered the ultimate indignity on election night when he not only led a failed campaign but was ousted from his own seat of Dickson in Brisbane ‘s outer-northern suburbs – which he had held since 2001 – by Labor’s Ali France.
In a reflection of the respect the two men held for one another – even if they traded barbs on the campaign trail – Dutton gave a gracious concession speech in which he revealed he had rung Albanese to tell him how proud his late mother would have been of his victory.
The Prime Minister said politics was an ‘honourable profession’ but acknowledged it came with huge downsides. ‘You expose yourself publicly, particularly with social media,’ he told the radio station. ‘Don’t read the comments out there, folks. It can be really brutal, and you’ve got to be resilient.’
Mr Dutton, 54, had yet to commit to what he will do next, but vowed not to be a commentator sniping from the sidelines. ‘The best model I’ve seen is where leaders, former, make a graceful exit from politics and maintain their graceful silence, so that’ll be my model,’ he said recently.