Just a few short days prior to May’s federal election, senior figures within the Coalition believed they were on course for victory and that the Albanese government would be the first one-term federal government since the Great Depression.
They were absolutely correct that the election would be one for the record books, but unfortunately for them, it would be for the worst performance of an opposition at a first-term government’s return to the polls since at least World War 2.
Prior to 2025, in the 80 years since World War 2, every single first-term federal government has lost seats at their next election.
