Bill’s ‘Hillary’ moment: How Shorten spent the dying hours of the campaign back-slapping over beers in the pub – while ‘Trump-like’ Scott Morrison dashed across the nation chasing crucial votes
- Mr Shorten spent last day of campaign drinking beer with Victorian premier
- Mr Morrison meanwhile took a whirlwind, last-minute tour of marginal seats
- Contrast echoed Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in the 2016 US election
Bill Shorten’s disastrous election campaign is being compared to that of Hillary Clinton after both left-leaning leaders were unexpectedly defeated by their conservative opponents.
Mr Shorten spent the last day before the election drinking beer in a Melbourne pub with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, while Mr Morrison took a whirlwind, last-minute tour of five marginal seats across three states.
The contrast echoed the eve of the United States election in 2016 when Mrs Clinton spent time with Barack Obama, Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi, while Donald Trump went to five states and held a midnight rally in Michigan, a crucial swing state.
Mr Shorten (centre) spent the last day before the election drinking beer in a Melbourne pub with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews (right) and former premier Steve Bracks (left)
In honour of former prime minister Bob Hawke – who died two days out from the election – Mr Shorten (centre) drank at one of the late leader’s favourite pubs, the John Curtin Hotel in Carlton
Mr Morrison (pictured) took a whirlwind, last-minute tour of five marginal seats across three states
In honour of former prime minister Bob Hawke – who died two days out from the election – Mr Shorten drank at one of the late leader’s favourite pubs, the John Curtin Hotel in Carlton, Melbourne.
Mr Shorten was joined by Mr Andrews and former Victorian premier Steve Bracks.
The three men drank ‘Hawke’s Pale Ale’, a beer made in homage to Mr Hawke.
Meanwhile, Mr Morrison’s last-minute campaigning paid off as the Coalition claimed an unlikely victory.
The Coalition tracked 20 marginal seats and tailored its campaign towards them.
‘On the marginals we were always ahead and the momentum was going our way,’ a Liberal source told the Sydney Morning Herald.
The contrast echoed the eve of the United States election in 2016 when Donald Trump (pictured) went to five states and held a midnight rally in Michigan, a crucial swing state
Mr Morrison had visited Tasmania seven times by the end of the campaign’s first week and the seats of Longman and Bribie Island in Queensland were also targeted in the campaign.
The Liberal leader praised ‘quiet Australians’ for his ‘miracle’ election win.
‘They have their dreams, they have their aspirations, to get a job, to get an apprenticeship, to start a business, to meet someone amazing, to start a family, to buy a home, to work hard and provide the best you can for your kids, to save for your retirement,’ Mr Morrison said.
‘These are the quiet Australians who have won a great victory tonight. Tonight is about every single Australian who depends on their government to put them first.’
Much like Trump, opinion polls had trended towards Mr Morrison’s opponents and Sportsbet were so confident of a Labor victory they had paid out on bets days before the ballot.
Mr Morrison’s victory over Mr Shorten has parallels to the 2016 US election campaign where Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton (pictured)
Mr Trump congratulated Mr Morrison during a phone call on Sunday, with the US President telling his Australian counterpart that he had predicted the result.
‘He was very congratulatory and very pleased about the outcome. He said that he always thought that it would happen,’ Mr Morrison told the Daily Telegraph.
‘We’d already struck up a good relationship and looking forward to the certainty of me being in the role for the next three years. We talked about that and I look forward to potentially being there later in the year but certainly getting together at the G20 (leaders summit).’