Last modified on Fri 30 Apr 2021 16.28 EDT
Tasmania votes this Saturday in an election called 10 months early. Four Australian state and territory governments have been convincingly returned since the Covid-19 pandemic struck, but Tasmania’s is the first Liberal government to try its luck. State governments usually struggle when the same party is in power federally. Under normal circumstances this government – seven years in office and with just a one-seat majority – would almost certainly lose seats.
This election, however, is not normal. In 2020, Peter Gutwein’s handling of Covid earned the premier the highest satisfaction rating for any leader in Newspoll history (90%). The Labor opposition started the campaign embroiled in mysterious factional fighting. Its candidates have also freelanced against party policy, one of them (Fabiano Cangelosi) in gloriously outspoken terms.