Daniel Andrews has spoken out after new Victorian Premier Ben Carroll sold himself to millions of voters by saying ‘I am not Daniel Andrews.’

Speaking at his first press conference as Labor leader on Tuesday, Carroll said he intended to take a different approach as premier.

‘Let me make one thing very clear: I am not Daniel Andrews. I am not Jacinta Allan. I will do things differently, because different times require a new approach,’ he told reporters.

But Andrews did not seem to be offended by the comments and congratulated him for winning the party leadership.

‘I well remember campaigning shoulder to shoulder with Ben in the Niddrie by-election in 2012. I saw then what I know now: he is a great campaigner who will take it up to the Liberal Party and One Nation.

‘Elections like this are won by a handful of votes in a handful of seats. I believe Premier Carroll and his team can win in November.

‘As he has rightly pointed out, the stakes are high. Working people across Victoria cannot afford the cuts that will come with a Wilson-Hanson Government,’ Andrews said.

Carroll first sought Labor’s leadership after Andrews’ resignation in 2023, but withdrew following a factional deal that saw him become deputy premier under Allan.

Daniel Andrews (right) said that Ben Carroll and Labor could win the November state election

Carroll (pictured) would not be say whether a $134,000 statue of Andrews would proceed

Allan was widely viewed as a mentee of Andrews, who anointed her to be his successor when he retired from politics in 2023.

Carroll on Wednesday faced questions about the future of a planned statue of Andrews, distancing himself from the project and refusing to say whether it would proceed.

The Victorian government approved a $134,304 bronze statue of the former premier for Melbourne’s Treasury Place under a long-standing policy that commemorates Victorian leaders who have served more than 3,000 days in office.

Allan is yet to announce whether or not she will retire from politics altogether following her resignation as Premier on Tuesday.

Former federal Labor leader Bill Shorten said state Labor was facing ‘extinction level results’ worse than the 1992 at the hands of Liberal icon Jeff Kennett and he understood the move against Allan.

‘The ghost of Dan Andrews politically looms pretty large,’ he told the ABC’s 730 program.

‘Jacinta had a chance to be seen to be quite different … the reality is that Victorians want a change from that era.’

Former Victorian premier Steve Bracks, who replaced John Brumby as Labor leader in 1999 before steering the party unexpected election victory seven months later, said Carroll’s ascension to the top job put the party in good stead.

Jacinta Allan was appointed Daniel Andrews’ successor when he retired

‘It’ll be a very tight election, but one that Labor can win,’ he told AAP.

He said Allan had served the state ‘very well’, but her days were numbered once she lost the support of her colleagues.

‘She had no choice but to resign,’ he said.

He suggested the leadership change would give a ‘bit of spark’ to Labor for the election, but acknowledged it would ‘hand-to-hand combat’ across the state’s 88 lower house seats.

Fresh Newspoll results on Monday, prior to his elevation, revealed the Labor Party was trailing the coalition 52 per cent to 48 per cent on a primary vote basis.

Despite Carroll moving fast to address criticisms that had plagued Labor, he still needed to convince punters he could lead, Redbridge pollster and former Liberal strategist Tony Barry said.

‘History has been littered with people who you think would be fantastic but they were electorally unsuccessful,’ he said.

He pointed to the example of former prime minister Julia Gillard, who in a social media post paid tribute to Allan as being ‘courageous’ in calling out and combating misogyny.

‘There is no doubt that as the second woman to lead the state, she has been subjected to vile sexism,’ Gillard wrote.