Peter Dutton perceived as both the underdog and stronger leader ahead of Federal election, says expert

Like a form of political Yin and Yang, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is winning the perception race as a stronger leader while also assuming the coveted position of the political underdog as Australia hurtles towards the Federal election, says a leading body language expert.

While both Mr Dutton and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had worked hard on maintaining a smart visual appearance in their choice of clothes, hairstyle, glasses and shoes, it was the perception of gravitas that made the strongest impression on voters, Dr Louise Mahler said.

Mr Dutton’s body language came across as more authoritative, she told the Nightly in an interview.

“It looks like he is actually going to do something. It’s not his height and build. That’s the visual. I’m talking about the way he holds his body and the way he moves his body,” she said.

Some of the Opposition Leader’s habitual patterns clearly came from his background in the police force, where senior officers could appear tight and stiff, Dr Mahler added.

“What Mr Dutton does is he has his head forward off his body . . . and what that does is it puts a lot of stress on the throat, so we get that pretty deep voice, which sounds of strain and effort,” she said.

The Liberal Party MP had no movement in the upper part of his face and did not use the orbicularis oculi, the muscles under his eyes, to add colour and shape to his voice.

While this did nothing for sex appeal, it did sound “strong and forced,” said Dr Mahler.

“I think Mr Dutton comes across as the underdog because his vocal production comes off as ‘I’m making an effort. Listen to me’,” she argued.

The Prime Minister on the other hand, had the air of confidence of the man in the top job, but lacked adrenaline, she said.

“Mr Albanese doesn’t know where power comes from in the body,” she said, describing him as “very soft in his presence,” after adjusting throat tension that had previously caused a harsh twang.

“Whenever he speaks, it has no power, no strength. Power for the voice comes in the lower body, so you can’t remove it from the throat tension and have no other place to replace it,” she said.

“He needs to get some gumption under it. So, the perception is of someone who’s not ambitious, motivated.”

Mr Dutton appeared to send mixed signals last weekend in a wide-ranging and personal profile in QWeekend.

“I believe we can win, and I have no doubt we will,” he said with confidence.

But he equally claimed that “we are well and truly the underdog,” underscoring that a first term government has not lost power since 1931.

“We have a mountain of seats to climb but we have a united team, we have a bigger vision for the country than the government, we have a track record, and I think all of that melds together for us to be successful at the election, but there’s a long way to go,” he said.

Dr Mahler said the two were not incompatible.

“You absolutely can be both, because you’re the underdog who is fighting for right. Underdog and fighting for a cause are two different things. That’s not conflict of message,” she said.

As the Federal election nears, both the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader are wrangling to grasp the inherent advantages in being the underdog, a status which analysts say resonates well with voters.

With his popularity sinking in the polls in recent months, Mr Albanese responded to a question in January on Sky News on whether he was the underdog by stating that “I’ve been underestimated my whole life.”

Facing similar questioning on ABC, he said:

“We know that the offer that is made for a second term needs to be a strong one and we’ll put that forward. But Labor governments have governed for around about 30 per cent of the time since Federation. We know that it’s tough to win elections.”

On February 6, Mr Dutton proudly claimed the position.

“Are we the underdog in this campaign? Absolutely we are,” he said.

Dr Andrew Hughes, a political communications and marketing expert at the Australian National University, said the chase for underdog status had been a “hallmark of the last three to four Federal elections,” from Mr Albanese to Scott Morrison, Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott.

“Australians hate tall poppies. We’ve got that natural resonance towards someone who’s got to try and be up against the system and be a bit ‘anti-authority’, the ‘anti-the-system’ type of character,” he said.

“(Mr Dutton) wants to be seen as the underdog, because it gives him that edge, it gives him that flexibility in people’s minds to be a little bit harder on some topics,” he added.

What could look arrogant alongside a strong lead in the polls, could come across as “speaking up for those who don’t have a voice on certain issues” if he was trailing behind, said Dr Hughes.

“(Mr Albanese) in some ways, too, wants the category of the underdog because it gives him more relevance and resonance to a lot more people than it does being the person perceived to be the next prime minister,” he said.

He also picked up on Mr Dutton’s image as a more dominant leader.

“We still run a presidential-style system of campaigning in Australia, even though we don’t have one per se. It’s very influential in how they build the brand up around the leader,” he said.

“So the stronger and better your perception as a leader, the better you go in polls. And we Australians, for whatever reason, good or bad, have always had an affinity to leaders who come across as at times very controlling and dominant,” Dr Hughes explained.

But he added that the election was still going to be “really tight.”

“I still can’t see how the Coalition gets the numbers required in those inner urban seats to take government because Dutton’s brand is strong, but I think it’s strong in the wrong places,” he said.

“Whoever wins, it’s minority government.”