Labor’s candidate is likely to come from its Right faction,but subgroups within the Right have not yet agreed on who should win the plum seat.
Forces aligned to deputy leader Richard Marles and other sections of the Right are set to stake their claims for the seat named after former prime minister Bob Hawke. The Left may also attempt to take the seat.
The tussle comes as a peace deal nears between Labor’s warring factions. It would be the first internal truce since former powerbrokerAdem Somyurek busted the old factional alliance four years ago,prompting years of internal rancour and fights over preselections.
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The so-called “stability deal”,discussed at a meeting of factional chiefs on Friday afternoon,would divide the spoils between the factions for up to a decade with the aim of avoiding internal fighting over positions and focusing the party’s collective efforts on election campaigning.
The deal would be a win for Premier Daniel Andrews,whose government has faced unwanted attention over factional turmoil that has disrupted his parliamentary ranks and shifted focus from the government’s agenda.
In the power vacuum created by Mr Somyurek’s departure from party affairs,Mr Marles and former federal leader Bill Shorten are emerging as pre-eminent figures in the Victorian branch.