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Mr Bornstein,55,was the subject of a series of reports inThe Australian last week detailing controversial tweets he had posted over the past decade. In the posts,he labelled federal Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen a “muppet” and compared a female unionist to a dog. He also tweeted the name “Christian” during speculation about the identity of the minister who had been accused of a historial rape allegation,and before former attorney-general Christian Porter had identified himself. Mr Porter has vigorously denied the allegation.

Veteran Labor senator Kim Carr.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Mr Bornstein also compared Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong to a character from the TV programThe Addams Family,prompting Ms Wong to release a statement affirming the need to respect women.

A federal MP from Labor’s Left faction said they expected Mr Bornstein would have continued to come under media scrutiny for his colourful social media commentary if he had remained in the preselection race.

“In isolation none of the tweets are that bad and internally no one thinks he should be disqualified for them,” the MP said,“but these things tend to snowball and you struggle to get rid of the stench.”

The online history of prospective politicians has become an increasingly common and potent political weapon as opponents trawl through years of social media posts in search of embarrassing material.

In some cases,statements that may have seemed innocuous years ago are deemed inappropriate by contemporary political and cultural standards. In other cases,the posts were made at a time when the candidate was not considering a run for office. Posts intended to be read ironically can also be reported by the media in their literal sense.

Senator Carr dominated the Victorian factional scene for two decades but his authority has waned in recent years and he now lacks factional support to contest the next election without a fight.

He declared toThe Age last week thathe would fend off any challenge,and received high-profile backing,but there is a growing consensus that the left faction,which has a right to preselect the candidate for Senator Carr’s position on the Senate ticket,will push for renewal.

Ryan Batchelor,a think-tank director and son of former Victorian minister Peter Batchelor,is being backed for the position by forces aligned to left-faction federal MP Andrew Giles.

Senator Carr,an advocate for local scientific and manufacturing capacity,could retain his spot if a suitable replacement does not emerge. But the preselection is likely to be held in July and it is expected that more candidates,including women,will emerge.

Labor is meeting its 40 per cent target for female representation among MPs in Victoria. Women make up a large proportion of Left faction MPs and the Right contains a smaller proportion of women.

At the same time,Labor factions are negotiating a peace deal that would carve up the right to preselect candidates for seats in federal and state parliaments for the next decade. The proposed deal also includes a contentious clause about factions being able to get rid of elected MPs to create renewal.

Grassroots Labor members were stripped of their voting rights last year following theAdem Somyurek branch-stacking affair. As a result,Victorian preselections are decided by the national executive.

Party sources said Labor leader Anthony Albanese,who sits on the national executive and in effect has the casting vote over preselections,would support the Victorian Left dumping Senator Carr.

The national executive will rubber-stamp any decision made by the Left and will only intervene if the faction is unable to select a candidate.

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