A controversial new anti-Jacinta Allan campaign urging Victorians to “Ditch the Witch” has emerged amid fresh speculation over the Premier’s leadership.
The billboard was spotted driving around Melbourne’s CBD on Friday night, just hours after renewed speculation emerged that Ms Allan could be replaced as leader within weeks.
The billboard was one of three depicting Ms Allan as a witch attached to commentary about community safety and government mismanagement.
“Ditch the Witch” became synonymous with the campaign against former prime minister Julia Gillard during the bitter carbon tax debate in 2011.
The phrase was widely condemned as sexist and misogynistic and later became emblematic of the treatment of the country’s female prime minister.
The re-emergence of the phrase in Victorian politics is likely to spark fierce debate and inflame anxiety inside Ms Allan’s caucus about her leadership.
Labor MPs and factional figures are openly discussing a potential leadership change ahead of November’s state election amid fears of an electoral wipe out.
Leadership speculation has plagued the Premier for more than a year but intensified in March when factional powerbrokers canvassed a circuit-breaker change ahead of the election.
While no credible challenger has emerged publicly, the constant leadership chatter has highlighted nervousness within government ranks as Labor’s polling continues to trend downwards.
Ms Allan remains the least popular premier in the country, with a net approval rating of -32.
Senior Labor MPs are not ruling out replacing Ms Allan as the party’s leader before the election, with the next sitting week of parliament in two weeks time widely accepted as the opportune time for change.
