The Project’s left-wing hosts are ‘in mourning’ over Anthony Albanese’s ‘disaster’ first week of the election campaign: ‘They must be crying into their pillows every night’

The hosts of Channel 10’s left-leaning current affairs show The Project are ‘in mourning’ after a horror first week of the election campaign for Anthony Albanese’s Labor party, a media commentator has claimed.

Mr Albanese got off to a shaky start last Monday when he was unable to state either the unemployment rate or the cash rate at a press conference, which resulted in support for the opposition slipping from 38 to 34 per cent while support for the Coalition rose slightly from 34 to 35 per cent, according to a Resolve Strategic poll.

Speaking on The Sunday Project, host Lisa Wilkinson expressed disbelief that after a strong start for Labor, a single week of campaigning could ‘wipe out three years of lived experience’ of ‘gaffes’ and ‘possible lies’ from Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Sky News Australia anchor Chris Kenny on Monday said The Project hosts were blindsided by the polls swinging in Morrison’s favour because they had spent so long ‘work[ing] themselves into a lather with… personal attacks on’ the PM.

Commentary: The hosts of Channel 10’s left-leaning current affairs show The Project are ‘in mourning’ after a horror first week of the election campaign for Anthony Albanese’s Labor party, a media commentator has claimed. (Pictured: Hamish Macdonald and Lisa Wilkinson)

He argued that from their left-wing perspective, it must be unimaginable for anyone to want to re-elect Mr Morrison over Mr Albanese, even though surveys indicate this is a real possibility.

Sophie Elsworth, media writer for The Australian, told Kenny: ‘Well, look, I think they’re pretty much in mourning over at The Project.

‘You can just see, they must be going home crying into their pillows every night since this election campaign started. It’s been a disaster for Anthony Albanese to say the least.’

Numbers game: Mr Albanese (pictured on April 12) got off to a shaky start last Monday when he was unable to state either the unemployment rate or the cash rate at a press conference, which resulted in support for the opposition slipping from 38 to 34 per cent while support for the Coalition rose slightly from 34 to 35 per cent, according to a Resolve Strategic poll

Her view: Speaking on The Sunday Project, host Lisa Wilkinson (left) expressed disbelief that after a strong start for Labor, a single week of campaigning could ‘wipe out three years of lived experience’ of ‘gaffes’ and ‘possible lies’ from Prime Minister Scott Morrison (right)

The Project has long been accused of having a left-wing bias, with a leading TV commentator saying last year its ‘woke’ agenda was pushing away viewers.

Rob McKnight, a former Channel 10 executive who now runs industry website TV Blackbox, said in August 2021: ‘The Project is very woke and that doesn’t connect with mainstream Australia.’

‘My take is that most Australians are centre-right in their politics which is why talkback radio does so well,’ McKnight added.

Response: Sky News Australia anchor Chris Kenny (right) on Monday said The Project hosts were blindsided by the polls swinging in Morrison’s favour because they had spent so long ‘work[ing] themselves into a lather with… personal attacks on’ the PM. The Australian’s Sophie Elsworth (left) replied: ‘I think they’re pretty much in mourning over at The Project… They must be going home crying into their pillows every night since this election campaign started’

‘But The Project skews too far to the left and doesn’t reflect Betty from Bankstown or Irene from Ipswich. It really feels inner Melbourne and not relatable.’

He said the presenters are all ‘great talent’, but at some point the show just ‘stopped connecting’ with the mainstream – ‘and that kills any brand’.

McKnight, who has worked for all three commercial TV networks, went on to say The Project used to punch above its weight by setting the news agenda every week.

But these days ‘nobody pays attention anymore’.

Bias? The Project has been accused of having a left-wing bias, with a leading TV commentator saying its ‘woke’ agenda is pushing away viewers. Pictured (L-R): Tommy Little, Peter Helliar, Hamish Macdonald, Carrie Bickmore, Waleed Aly, Lisa Wilkinson and Gorgi Coghlan

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