Jacinta Allan expected to face leadership challenge after Victorian Labor factions meet

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan is bracing for a potential leadership challenge as state parliament prepares to resume this week, with just four months remaining until the state election. Factional conveners from both the Labor left and right wings convened Sunday night to assess Allan's standing within the party caucus.

Sources suggest the factional leaders concluded that Allan no longer commands the support of a majority of the caucus. However, the mechanism for a challenge remains uncertain. Deputy Premier Ben Carroll, Allan's most likely opponent, has reportedly informed colleagues that he would only contest the leadership if the position were to become vacant. This stance has led to discussions among factions about alternative approaches, including a group of ministers informing Allan of her loss of support ahead of a planned cabinet meeting.

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She has my full support, and this idle gossip doesn’t help Victorians. It is only hurting Victorians at a time when Victorians need us all to be focused on them, and that is exactly what Jacinta Allan and our Labor government, our team, is doing.

The hope among some is that Allan might stand down voluntarily before a potential vote during Tuesday's caucus meeting, the first since the winter break. Should Allan contest a ballot, the challenge could extend for weeks, involving a vote by the entire Victorian Labor membership, a process introduced after the instability of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd era and untested at the state level.

Despite speculation, a minister close to Allan insisted she was "not going anywhere" and characterized the leaks as an effort to build momentum for a leadership spill. Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny, a key supporter, dismissed the rumors as "idle gossip" that harms Victorians by distracting from their needs. Allan assumed the premiership in September 2023 following Daniel Andrews' resignation. Momentum for a spill had been growing due to poor polling, low personal approval ratings, and concerns over organized crime's infiltration of the state's Big Build project, which Allan previously oversaw as transport infrastructure minister. She has rejected calls for a royal commission into the matter.

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I’ve got a young daughter at home, and I couldn’t be more proud to make sure she grows up knowing that I supported Jacinta Allan to be a world-class premier and get re-elected in her own right.