Anthony Albanese reveals the correct way to pronounce his surname - and admits his arch rival Chris Pyne is the only politician who gets it right
- Anthony 'Albo' Albanese, 56, has revealed the correct way to say his surname
- The member for Grayndler confirmed the pronunciation on Wednesday night
- Mr Albanese is tipped to be the next leader following Bill Shorten's resignation
Budding Labor leader Anthony 'Albo' Albanese, 56, has revealed the correct way to pronounce his surname - and the one politician who always gets it right.
The longtime member for Grayndler, in Sydney's inner-west, confirmed the correct pronunciation when he appeared on The Project on Wednesday night.
Mr Albanese joined the program's panel within hours of his major opponent, Chris Bowen, announcing he wouldn't be competing for the newly vacant leadership role.
Budding Labor party leader Anthony 'Albo' Albanese, 56 (pictured), has revealed the correct way to pronounce his surname - and the one politician who always gets it right
Co-host Waleed Aly wasted no time grilling the minister on why the ALP lost last week's election, why he should be the next leader, and how he intends to succeed.
But before the pair tackled the more pertinent questions, Aly asked Mr Albanese to confirm the correct way to pronounce his name to set the record straight.
'First things first, let's clear something up,' Aly said, before he introduced a clip of several politicians and newsreaders pronouncing the MP's name differently.
'Can we settle this thing once and for all? How the hell are we meant to say your last name?' the host asked Mr Albanese.
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The MP replied: 'In terms of the Italian pronunciation, it's Alba-Nay-Zee. But you don't say spaghetti bolo-nay-zee, do you?'
He described how he wasn't 'terribly precious' about how people pronounced his name, which is why people often call him 'Albo' because it's a lot easier to say.
'It's bolo-nay-zee... it's not hard,' the MP said.
Mr Albanese added the only person in the video who came close to enunciating his name correctly was Christopher Pyne, who had a European inflection in his voice.
Co-host Waleed Aly (pictured) wasted no time grilling Mr Albanese on why the ALP lost last week's election, why he should be the next leader, and how he intends to succeed
Mr Albanese (pictured) joined the program's panel within hours of his major opponent, Chris Bowen, announcing he wouldn't be competing for the newly vacant leadership role
The member for Grayndler is tipped to be the next Opposition leader, following Bill Shorten's shock election thumping on Saturday.
Mr Albanese's leadership tilt, announced at the weekend, is a new chapter in what has already been a tumultuous year for the Labor frontbencher.
In January, the former Cabinet minister issued a statement announcing he and his wife of 30 years, the ex-NSW deputy premier Carmel Tebutt, had separated.
The relationship breakdown has barely come up since, with Mr Albanese dedicating himself to campaigning for Labor as its transport spokesman.
Political royalty: Ms Tebutt was the deputy leader of NSW Labor and Mr Albanese deputy prime minister at different points
Power couple: Mr Albanese with Ms tebutt during the 2016 federal election campaign
On Sunday he suggested he could revive the party's fortunes, announcing his bid to be Opposition leader at a Balmain pub. 'I know what it's like to do it tough,' he said.
Mr Albanese reflected on his compelling backstory, telling how he was raised in public housing in 1960s inner Sydney by a single mother, Maryanne, who was on an invalid pension.
'What you see is what you get with me,' he said.
'I'm a bit rough at the edges, but I think that Australians don't want someone who just utters talking points.'
A young Mr Albanese (pictured) was raised in Camperdown. The Sydney suburb was a considerably more downtrodden area in the 1960s than its trendy present
Maryanne Albanese (left) with Anthony's father Carlo standing (also on left)
A young Mr Albanese was raised in Camperdown. The Sydney suburb was a considerably more downtrodden area in the 1960s than its trendy present.
As a teenager, he worked as a paperboy and went to school in the city.
Even then, he was known as Albo, people who knew him then said.
His mother always told Mr Albanese she had met his Italian father overseas, but she had returned to Australia and he had died in a car crash.
When he was a teenager, she revealed the story was not actually true.
'We sat down just after dinner one night and she — it was very traumatic for her, I think, to tell me that in fact that wasn't the case,' Mr Albanese told the ABC in 2009.
'Hot Albo': A photograph of a young Anthony Albanese went viral during the last Labor government
Maryanne told him 'my father might still be alive, that she'd met him overseas, fallen pregnant with me, had told him and he had said, basically, that he was betrothed to someone from the town in Italy where he was from.'
Mr Albanese said he did not follow up on the story until after his mother's died in 2002.
He knew his father, Carlo, had worked on a cruise ship and enlisted the help of a maritime historian to track him down. Incredibly, the effort was successful.
The pair met, embraced and spoke for an hour-and-a-half, the Labor luminary later told the ABC.
'It's hard to put into words ... how I felt. It was just completely overwhelming,' Mr Albanese said. His father died in 2014, and told his long lost son he was happy they had found each other.
A younger Anthony Albanese running for government during the 2007 election campaign
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