With the chance to use his political capital for reform, can the PM repay the trust placed in him? | Sarah Martin

Everywhere the Labor leader looks at the moment he sees a crisis looming.

But the current crises may enable a more ambitious reform agenda to be put forward before the 2025 election.

Naturally, the end of the election campaign has seen a notable dialling down of political hostility. This has been greeted with a sense of relief.

Albanese is aware people have conflict fatigue. A long decade of weaponised politics has degraded trust in public life and politicians, while doing little to improve the lives of voters.

The latest Guardian Essential poll shows the prime minister has an enormous amount of public goodwill to succeed, with most people approving of the job he is doing so far.

Albanese is in a honeymoon phase, with a near nonexistent opposition, but he has the highest approval rating of any new leader since Kevin Rudd in 2007.

So what will Albanese do with such political capital and public goodwill?

His position is helped enormously by having a group of reform-minded, mostly Labor, state and territory leaders around the national cabinet table who recognise that Albanese may have a once-in-a-generation opportunity for reform.

Albanese has an incredible opportunity to use his political capital to tackle the crises facing Australia.

In an interview with Guardian Australia this week, the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, spoke about his hopes that the Albanese government could usher in a new era of collaboration with the states.