Common Ground to Plant Our Dreams? Scenes from the 2022 Australian Election

"'A common ground where we can plant our dreams', Anthony Albanese's invocation - his own or, more likely, a speechwriter's - in his midnight victory speech, was l little hokey, but after nine years of drek and decay, it was a balm to the soul, and a tear came to eye. The previous six weeks had been nervewracking, with the Labor leader stumbling out of the gate on the first day, a campaign deliberately pitched perhaps too low, and a suspicion, from the road, that the general public did not agree with the progressive mantra that we had to get this mob out." -- Introduction.