Albanese has everything to lose engaging in a fight with Hanson, but he may be drawn in anyway | Analysis

The PM wants to combat One Nation through core Labor values such as education and health, even as his popularity takes a beating

At the height of her 1998 re-election fight, Pauline Hanson was challenged to give her honest assessment of John Howard.

Two years on from her firebrand maiden speech, the One Nation leader was contesting the Queensland seat of Blair when she was bailed up by a group of punters at a country race meeting. The men had been drinking and one demanded to know if Howard was “a prick”.

Hanson told them that the country’s leader had a job to do and she respected his position as the prime minister.

“You have a go at someone if you disagree with their policies or their views,” she counselled. “Don’t denigrate the person just for the fact that you don’t agree with him.”

Nearly 30 years on, with her party soaring in the opinion polls, Hanson is taking a very different approach.

One Nation claims to have raised millions from its “fire the liar” fundraising drive targeting Anthony Albanese , and Hanson cut sick on Sunday after the prime minister gave a speech describing the politics of “hard-right populists” as “dangerous, divisive and downright dishonest”.

Attracting as much media attention as at any point in her career, Hanson posted on social media that Albanese’s comments to the Queensland Labor conference, a day after One Nation’s win in the Secret Harbour byelection in Western Australia , “crossed a line”. She claimed the comments were “how political violence is incited” and referenced the death of British politician Ann Widdecombe in July, an alleged murder being investigated by counter-terrorism police.

It’s worth remembering Hanson had no sympathy for the then Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, when she faced misogynist attacks earlier this year. Hanson’s advice was “suck it up, sweetheart”.

It suits the leader of the insurgent minor party to attack Labor, in an attempt to attract headlines and drag Albanese into a slanging match.

She has name checked the prime minister, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and other politicians including Andrew Hastie and Matt Canavan in her feed in recent days.

Albanese has repeatedly called for the temperature of politics to be turned down, and wants to fight One Nation on politics and policy, not personal insults. Albanese did not actually attribute his “dangerous, divisive, and downright dishonest” comments to One Nation specifically – but that fact didn’t matter to Hanson.

Albanese’s long held view is that driving down One Nation’s support in time for the next election is best achieved through a fight on core Labor values, such as education policy, health, paid parental leave and compulsory superannuation.

Labor sources privately point to Peter Dutton’s standing in January 2025, when polls showed the Coalition competitive ahead of the looming election. Some Liberals thought Dutton was on track to become prime minister, and just five months later he was booted from parliament as Labor romped home with 94 seats.