Anthony Albanese not long ago told us the telling line about what drives him: "I like fighting Tories, it's what I do".
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The Prime Minister still relishes taking on the diminished numbers of the now opposition. You can see it in the theatre of question time.
But he is not just regarding the Coalition as Australian Tories now, he is testing a new branding of the Liberal Party as "the nasty party". This is happening while the Coalition is trying to make "tricky" stick to the Prime Minister.
Mr Albanese tried out the new option for the "No-alition" on Tuesday while addressing the Labor caucus in Canberra, specifically while talking about Scott Morrison's rejection of the robodebt royal commission's adverse findings as "absurd" and his accusation that Labor is set on his "political lynching".
He said Mr Morrison is behaving "as though he was the victim" of robodebt, while the modern Liberal Party is "prepared" - through examples such as robodebt and "blocking new homes" - to be "the nasty party."
For the opposition leader, the Prime Minister said the first instinct of Peter Dutton is the same as Scott Morrison, "contempt and disdain for those who are doing it tough."
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It is a road testing of a line we will likely hear more of, but UK voters have been hearing "the nasty party" for a couple of decades now.
Former British prime minister Theresa May stunned her own side by using it way back in 2002 as chairwoman of the Conservative Party to urge a widening of the traditional conservative base.
"There's a lot we need to do in this party of ours. Our base is too narrow and so, occasionally, are our sympathies. You know what some people call us - the Nasty Party," she said.
Mr Dutton is praising and is "very grateful for" unity in his party-room and for colleagues prosecuting a "clear message" on cost of living. He predicts "much more pain to come" particularly with energy prices.
Cost of living may be the number one issue, but is the Coalition focused on it? There is significant energy expended on talking down the proposed Voice to Parliament. Mr Albanese is now being pursued for over-committing 34 times to the full Uluru Statement from the Heart (that's truth and treaty as well as Voice) and Mr Dutton states the proposed Voice is "not in our country's best interests".
Ms May's 20-year-old speech to innovate and care for the vulnerable is just as valid now for all parties as they tackle being relevant.
"We need to reach out to all areas of our society," she said. "The truth is that as our country has become more diverse, our party has remained the same."
Nasty and tricky may just be names, but the eternal test for policy-makers is making sure the most vulnerable members of society are looked after. That and making sure lessons of travesties such as robodebt are well and truly learned.