The incoming federal government faces a unique communication challenge.

More people voted for the opposition than they did Labor, and two-thirds of Australians voted for someone other than a government candidate.

It’s another example that Australia’s voluntary voting preferential system means the least-worst option is a legitimate and practical path to electoral success.

It also shows the difference between the hearts and minds stuff of political folklore, and the reality of a numbers-driven political victory.

Of course, it doesn’t matter how you get there. A win’s a win, and it’s looking as though the new government will secure an electoral result that will enable it to govern with a majority of seats in the House of Representatives.

And, while there’s no reason to question the legitimacy of the make-up of the new parliament, the unique outcome does create challenges for how the government communicates its electoral success and corrals ongoing support for its agenda.

A couple of things stand out:

The language of victory is a bit different this time

In democracies, when governments change there is usually strong momentum in the electorate, reflected by more votes for the new government than the incumbent.

It’s not the case this time. As it stands, more primary votes have gone to the losing Coalition than the winning ALP.  

In practice, it means the way the new government talks about the electoral outcome will be different to what we might normally hear.

It’s early days, but we got a taste for it during the PM-elect’s acceptance speech. There was little or no mention of the phrases and cliches we’ve grown accustomed to hearing on these occasions. For example, there was no mention of ‘a mandate for change’ or ‘consensus for a new direction’, nor of the notion that ‘the people have spoken’. That’s because, in this instance, they kind of have and they kind of haven’t.

Instead, there was a stronger emphasis up-front on governing for all Australians: “And I can promise all Australians this — no matter how you voted today, the government I lead will respect every one of you every day. And, I’ll seek to get your vote next time.”

We should expect to hear more of this.

The campaign has only just begun

Twice as many people voted for someone other than the newly-elected government.

The way the government communicates its agenda and policy priorities will have to take this into account.

From the election outcome, it appears most of the electorate aren’t yet fully convinced about the new government’s approach. If they were, they would have voted directly for it.  

This means that the selling has just started and, in a sense, the campaign has only begun. Except now, however, Federal Labor will have the full machinery of government behind its PR and advertising efforts.

We should all expect to see a lot more of Team Albanese out and about in the community pitching its policies at the grassroots level. And, of course, more ads. Now that they’re in government, the line between partisan politics and government advertising could once again become very blurred.

The communication approach will change

It’s a given that the tone of the government will change, compared with what we were hearing and seeing over the past few weeks.

The transition to a more presidential, less combative Albo who ‘likes fighting tories’ is a transition that he’ll undergo over the coming weeks and months.

And, beyond this, we should also expect significant changes to how the new government talks about its big-ticket policy ideas.

Following a six-week campaign that dominated national and local editorial media, flooded our social media feeds, and cost tens of millions of dollars, the new government would have expected to have received the support of more than one in three voting Australians.

Clearly, something didn’t resonate.

The low primary vote will undoubtedly ensure messaging and communication channels, along with the use of various spokespeople, will be up for grabs as the government looks to sell an agenda to an electorate which, on voting behaviour alone, still needs convincing.

For those hoping to see less of our politicians now that the election is over, the reality is, they’re just getting started. 

Nathan Clarke is Practice Director at Six O’Clock Advisory.