Daniel Andrews vindicated in Victorian election that became a referendum on his pandemic response

But the party picked up seats in the east of Melbourne from the Liberals: Bayswater, Hastings and Glen Waverley. It also increased its margins in Ashwood, Box Hill and Ringwood.

Although the counting of pre-poll votes might yet reduce the scale of the win, worries about being forced into minority government proved laughable.

The result was, all in all, what the bookies and the polls had been predicting for months.

What was perhaps unpredicted was the swing away from the Liberal party, which had expected to gain ground after its 2018 drubbing.

The Liberals ran a much better campaign than they did at that election, however there was no clear narrative of what the party stood for, other than a visceral hatred of Andrews.

At a later protest, a gallows was wheeled out the front of parliament and a mock execution of the premier was carried out. Several of these protesters went on to contest the election and were preferenced above Labor by the Liberals.

The protests were Victoria at its worst, and were not a reflection of the wider community that had, at that stage, already achieved an 80% vaccination rate.

The premier returned to the theme in the opening of his victory speech, recalling the advice given to him by former Labor prime minister, Paul Keating.

Most voters Guardian Australia has spoke to in recent weeks were keen to move on from the pandemic. They cited climate change, cost of living, health and housing affordability as their main concerns.

To that end, Andrews used the latter half of his speech to spruik promises of upgraded hospitals, new schools, expanded free TAFE and a revived State Electricity Commission to own and operate renewable energy projects. The latter received the greatest cheer from the crowd.