The previous AFL participant and failed Melbourne lord mayoral candidate Anthony Koutoufides is contemplating a tilt on the Greens chief Adam Bandt’s seat on the upcoming federal election.
A supply near the Carlton premiership participant confirmed Koutoufides was approached to run as an impartial in Melbourne and was anticipated to decide on his candidacy imminently, with the election due on or earlier than 17 Might.
The supply, who requested anonymity, wouldn’t disclose who made the strategy.
Koutoufides made his first foray into politics ultimately yr’s Melbourne native council elections, polling nearly 13% to complete fourth on major votes behind winner Nick Reece.
Heading up the “Team Kouta” ticket, which included the previous Liberal MP Gladys Liu, the one-time Dancing with the Stars contestant campaigned on a pro-business platform that included forcing CBD staff again to the workplace no less than 4 days every week.
He made different headline-grabbing pledges, together with the provide of free coffees for workplace staff on Mondays.
The Age reported the “Team Kouta” ticket gained only one seat on Melbourne metropolis council regardless of spending $449,000, the majority of which was contributed by Koutoufides’ working mate, the property developer Intaj Khan.
Koutoufides, who performed 278 video games for Carlton, flagged a attainable tilt at state or federal politics after the council election marketing campaign, declaring “I’ll be back”.
“I’ve got a taste for it, and I’m looking forward to the future,” he mentioned in feedback reported within the Herald Solar.
Bandt was first elected in 2010 and has since turned Melbourne right into a Greens stronghold, successful nearly 50% of the first vote on the 2022 election.
After a report haul of 4 decrease home seats on the 2022 federal election, the Greens suffered setbacks ultimately yr’s Queensland and ACT elections, amid a hardline strategy in Canberra.
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In a press release to Guardian Australia, Bandt mentioned: “I never take the seat of Melbourne for granted and will campaign hard whoever runs.
“I’ll be proud to run on my record of getting dental into Medicare for kids, securing workers the right to disconnect and delivering climate action.”
A Greens supply famous the get together’s Melbourne lord mayoral ticket secured greater than 1,000 extra first choice votes than the pro-business Workforce Kouta, regardless of a voting system that provides eligible companies two votes in comparison with one for residents.
The supply mentioned a contest with Koutoufides would give the Greens a platform to speak about staff’ rights.
A Victorian Liberal supply mentioned one thing “catastrophic” would wish to occur for Bandt to lose his seat.
However the supply mentioned the presence of a high-profile, cashed-up impartial comparable to Koutoufides can be a distraction for Bandt and will power Greens campaigners to divert sources from the close by seat of Wills, which it desires to win from Labor.
