Jacinta Allan's profile 'a work in progress' after 100 days

Many Victorian voters are still trying to work out Jacinta Allan 100 days into her time as state premier, political analysts say.

The long-serving Bendigo East MP hits the milestone on Friday after replacing Daniel Andrews in late September.

Former Labor deputy campaign director-turned-pollster Kos Samaras says the change in leadership style has been significant.

“It’s a less centralised government,” the director of polling firm RedBridge told AAP.

“Daniel Andrews ran his government in a way that was most efficient for him.

“She obviously intends to run it in her own style, which is probably more suited for a third-term government and one that is up for re-election in 2026.”

Monash University senior politics lecturer Zareh Ghazarian said Ms Allan has been a far less polarising figure than her predecessor so far and mitigated potential voter fatigue down the track.

“It could pay electoral dividends,” he told AAP.

“One of the challenges that Labor would have faced had Daniel Andrews remained would be have been that he was in his 12th year as premier going for an additional four.”

The 50-year-old was thrown a curve-ball in her first week as premier when Treasurer Tim Pallas sparked a firestorm by unveiling tax reforms at a property industry breakfast.

Later that month she hit out at award-winning Herald Sun cartoonist Mark Knight after he depicted her naked with blurred areas across her breasts and hips.

In November, her government backflipped on opposing naming serial killer Paul Denyer in sweeping parole law reforms, marking her first major policy shift.

Otherwise she has continued to plot the same course as her old boss, including forging ahead with plans to build Melbourne’s contentious Suburban Rail Loop.

But she has not escaped scrutiny for major cost blowouts as the former transport infrastructure minister or for the cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games after being tasked with its delivery.

Mr Samaras said the Games debacle had given people the impression the government was “not on top of its brief” but most didn’t care about the event itself.

A December Redbridge poll of more than 2000 Victorian adults showed Ms Allan had the highest approval rating of any Victorian state leader but it still sat at minus six.

Some 24 per cent of respondents said she was much more or somewhat more qualified to address challenges faced by Victorians than Mr Andrews, who was favoured by 34 per cent of those polled.

But when told she grew up in Bendigo, had an electrician father and was the mother of school-age children, she was preferred over her old boss (32 to 25 per cent).

Mr Samaras said it demonstrated most voters were unfamiliar with Ms Allan, something she had time to correct.

“People would know of her but they’ve not seen her that much,” he said.

“It would be a question we want to ask in about a year of her time in office - that’s when it will mean something.”

Ms Allan went on a newspaper blitz before Christmas, answering questions ranging from what her first job was (supermarket worker) to her favourite sandwich (cheese and Vegemite).

Dr Ghazarian agreed Ms Allan was yet to fully define herself to much of the electorate.

“She’s coming into the role with a wealth of experience, but in terms of her public profile it’s still a work in progress,” he said.

The parlous state budget, cost-of-living and housing crises and possible second supervised injecting room in Melbourne’s CBD shaped as potential issues that could trip up her government this year, Dr Ghazarian said.