EDITORIAL: Anthony Albanese risks getting ahead of himself with bold poll call

Anthony Albanese must be privy to information no one else has.

The polls universally show his Government is losing ground across the country but particularly NSW and Victoria.

No one is saying he will win seats and increase his small majority. That would be a remarkable result.

He is a confidence performer and perhaps when talking to cashed-up donors he wants to rev up his chances of retaining office.

The irony of course of his Aria soiree on Sunday night is that this election will be all about cost-of-living.

The restaurant, which overlooks the Sydney Opera House and sells $10,000 bottles of Krug champagne, is owned by celebrity chef Matt Moran and Bruce Solomon, a leading Jewish Sydney businessman.

Many of the voters who will decide his fate will not be able to afford the $180-a-head for three courses offered at the high-end restaurant where the PM’s latest fundraiser was held.

If they were paying for spin with their $10,000 ticket to dine with the PM, then that was obviously money well spent.

Albanese told the wealthy donors at the fundraiser that he expects to win four extra seats increasing the party’s majority from two to six.

He was upbeat about the campaign despite expecting to lose seats in Victoria, which is shaping up to be one of Labor’s biggest headaches thanks to widespread dissatisfaction with the Labor State Government.

But the PM predicted Labor would make up the shortfall by winning four seats in Queensland, two in Tasmania and one in Western Australia.

He also said he expected the Liberal Party would lose Wannon in Victoria and Sturt in South Australia, where shadow immigration minister Dan Tehan and backbencher James Stevens are facing stiff competition from candidates backed by Simon Holmes a Court’s fundraising body Climate 200.

The PM’s bold prediction is way more optimistic than most opinion polls and betting markets, which all say no party is likely to win a majority. Sportsbet puts the odds of a Labor victory at $2.10 and a Coalition win at $1.72.

With all the polls suggesting Labor will go backwards, we are on track to be left with cashed up teals lecturing middle Australia on how to live or the crazy greens trying to bring their ugly divisive politics into our loungerooms.

Albanese has performed strongly in campaign mode the past few weeks, which has been helped by the Labor dirt unit in full effect as it continues to target Dutton.

It’s professional and powerful campaigning.

But Australians have some big questions to contemplate when they finally get to vote in May and one thing is certain, cost-of-living will be front of mind for most.

The Government will use the campaign to pretend its mistakes of the past three years never existed as they re-write history and attempt to position Peter Dutton as evil incarnate.

Voters now need to work out what the reality will be if a minority Government, held together by the Greens and teals, end up running this country, not Albanese’s fantasy.