ISABELLE MULLEN: Labor will have to work hard to fix Anthony Albanese’s image problem ahead of election

The Prime Minister has an image problem.

Attacks on his character and judgment have reached a fever pitch over the last two weeks.

The free flight upgrade saga hasn’t passed the pub test.

Months out from next year’s election it’s something Labor will have to work hard to fix.

The bad press began with his decision to buy a multi-million-dollar waterfront home with partner Jodie Haydon on the Central Coast during a cost-of-living crisis.

And now, it’s revelations he had a direct line to former Qantas boss Alan Joyce. Flight upgrades and Chairman’s Lounge access for his son were only a phone call away.

It’s been revealed he benefited from flight upgrades 22 times. They date back to 2009, when Mr Albanese was transport minister, and are valued at tens of thousands of dollars.

They include international holidays too.

Los Angeles, Paris, Rome, London, and Hawaii.

All declared and all within the rules.

But it’s raised questions over the nature of the relationship between Alan Joyce and the Prime Minister.

To put it simply, it just looks bad.

Not only did Qantas publicly back Labor’s Yes campaign, but the Federal Government blocked Qatar Airways from putting on more flights, a move which would have created more competition and potentially reduced ticket prices for Australians. Not something Qantas would have appreciated.

Since Qatar Airways was blocked, seven Labor ministers have received free upgrades from Qantas.

The optics aren’t good.

It looks like a case of ”you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours”.

The Prime Minister says this is an unfair assessment.

He’s far from the only politician to receive flight upgrades and perks.

Many have done much worse.

Peter Dutton has been upgraded 14 times.

London, Glasgow, Singapore and New Zealand.

He’s also used to flying comfortably on mining billionaire Gina Rinehart’s jet.

All declared and all within the rules.

They all do it.

But this has come at a critical time when public perception is crucial.

The Opposition is capitalising on the bad optics.

Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie tried to take the moral high ground this week and even held a press conference saying: “Anthony Albanese had a hotline to Qantas that ordinary Australians don’t have.”

She claimed she has never received an upgrade from Qantas until journalists showed her registry records that proved she had.

The difference here is that both Peter Dutton and Bridget McKenzie say they never asked for flight upgrades from Joyce directly.

That decision is affecting how people look at the Prime Minister.

Anthony Albanese has built a brand based on the perception that he understands ordinary Australians and is working in their best interests.

The boy who grew up in housing commission in Sydney’s inner west with a single mother.

Few people would disagree that he’s worked hard for what he’s got.

But this insight into the alternate world politicians live in could hurt the Prime Minister at the next election.

Anthony Albanese has been in Parliament for 30 years.

And he has made a point of putting all his perks and freebies in writing, even items valued below the declaration threshold of $300.

As he said in his defence this week, he even declared a cookbook.

Maybe that’s why his tone changed from angry to indignant when confronted this week by reporters over his relationship with Joyce.

In his world, he has played by the rules.

The trouble is when it’s written out in black and white, it’s totally unrelatable.

Anthony Albanese blames journalist Joe Aston whose new book The Chairman’s Lounge is where these revelations were first published.

The Prime Minister slammed Aston in a press conference, claiming that he never disclosed that he is a former Liberal staffer.

But that declaration was made in the first line on the first page of his book.

“My involvement with Qantas began tangentially, in 2006, when I landed a job in the office of federal Liberal MP Bruce Baird.”

Bummer.

It’s been a rough month for the Prime Minister.

Just two weeks ago he was forced to defend his multi-million-dollar property purchase with partner Jodie Haydon, who has family in Copacabana, NSW.

In both instances, the Prime Minister has claimed this is not a story.

He says he’s entitled to declare the freebies all politicians enjoy and to build his life with his fiancé.

He’s right, he is.

He should be able to spend his money doing whatever he likes.

But politically the timing is bad.

Why not wait until after the election?