Pauline Hanson is becoming a problem for Labor – but her focus on battlers could be her kryptonite

Anthony Albanese (left) and Pauline Hanson. Some Labor MPs say the party should remain focused on its core strengths of wages, tax cuts and boosting Medicare, casting itself as the only party offering practical measures. Photograph: AAP View image in fullscreen Anthony Albanese (left) and Pauline Hanson. Some Labor MPs say the party should remain focused on its core strengths of wages, tax cuts and boosting Medicare, casting itself as the only party offering practical measures. Photograph: AAP Analysis Pauline Hanson is becoming a problem for Labor – but her focus on battlers could be her kryptonite Dan Jervis-Bardy and Tom McIlroy Labor talking points this week concede Australians are frustrated with an economy that ‘isn’t working for them’. The goal will be to convince voters One Nation isn’t either Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast It was mid-January when Anthony Albanese publicly admitted his “worry” about the rise of One Nation. The prime minister’s concern was not the political risk to himself or to Labor but rather the threat Pauline Hanson posed to the stability of Australia’s two-party system. “I’m a believer in mainstream politics and that the parties of government, it’s important. [It has] served this country pretty well,” Albanese said in an interview on Kiis FM, after a January newspoll showed One Nation ahead of the Coalition for the first time. “It [One Nation] is a reality that the Coalition in particular have to deal with.” Five months on, the One Nation threat is also a reality Labor must deal with, after several national opinion polls ranked Hanson’s rightwing populist party the most popular in the country. Angus Taylor rejects One Nation seat-sharing deal as cracks appear in Liberal ranks over Pauline Hanson threat Read more One Nation this week launched a dedicated fundraising drive to “fire the liar” and Hanson has declared Labor-held seats are firmly on the party’s radar. The party claimed to have collected more than $2m in donations this week alone, off the back of broken promises in the federal budget. Albanese has acknowledged reforms to negative gearing, capital gains tax and trusts were in part designed to counter One Nation and the myriad frustrations driving voters to embrace rightwing populism. Labor and its trade union allies have also shifted the focus of their rhetorical attacks, targeting Hanson as though she – rather than Angus Taylor – is the opposition leader. For now, none of it appears to be working, leaving some insiders to question what – if anything – will. ‘Anger and slogans’ Each morning Labor MPs are provided “talking points” to align their messaging on the important issues of the day. On Wednesday, a new topic was added to the list: One Nation. The suggested lines were entirely consistent with the language Albanese has used in the past week, including openly conceding that Australians are frustrated with an economy that “isn’t working for them”. But the fact that the guidan