Two-way race a possibility for party leadership Seeking Labor leadership: Bill Shorten. Bill Shorten will seek the Labor leadership when the diminished ALP caucus meets in Canberra on Friday in a possible head-to-head showdown with present deputy leader Anthony Albanese. Mr Shorten is expected to hold a press conference in Melbourne later on Wednesday to announce he will stand. If Mr Albanese also contests, it would be the first leadership ballot to take place under Labor's new rule that stipulates two ballots occur with equal weighting: one within the parliamentary caucus as is traditional, and the other among all rank-and-file members of the ALP. Expected to enter the competition: Deputy leader Anthony Albanese. The second of the two ballots would take as long as a month to conduct among the party's estimated 30,000 members nationally. Mr Albanese is yet to enter the race but has strong backing and is being urged to step up to the job widely regarded as the toughest in politics - opposition leader following a change of government. The 50-year-old stalwart is weighing his options but would likely go in as favourite. His backers say Mr Albanese is a proven heavy hitter in Parliament and is one of the few senior figures to have emerged from Labor's politically disastrous leadership tensions with his reputation intact. He is expected to declare his intention before Friday's meeting. A social media campaign is under way backing Mr Albanese as the next federal Labor leader, with supporters convinced he would defeat Mr Shorten if the choice goes to party members. A day after being launched, the "Anthony Albanese for Labor Leader" Facebook page had attracted more than 700 "likes" on Tuesday evening. The "albo4leader" Twitter handle was reporting a spike in "albomentum." The group claimed it wasn't connected to the outgoing deputy prime minister, but one of the group's co-convenors Luke Whitington, a NSW Labor Policy Forum member, said Mr Albanese was a strong parliamentary performer and the best person to return the party to federal government quickly. Mr Shorten, the outgoing education and workplace relations minister, will put his name forward after securing the backing of his dominant right faction. However, Fairfax Media understands factional discipline will not hold with several right-aligned MPs favouring Mr Albanese as the best match-up to incoming prime minister Tony Abbott. Mr Shorten's nomination follows several days of speculation after defeated prime minister Kevin Rudd declared he would vacate the leadership to allow the party to move forward. Mr Shorten, 44, a Victorian, is a gifted communicator and has long been tipped as a future Labor prime minister. But he made his share of enemies by playing pivotal roles in the moves against both Mr Rudd as prime minister in 2010 and Ms Gillard as prime minister this year. Outgoing health minister and MP for Sydney Tanya Plibersek, 43, is likely to nominate for deputy leader if Mr Shorten is the sole candidate, providing the leadership duo a balance on basis of gender, state of origin, and factional support. The climax of Labor's post-defeat leadership vacuum comes amid rumoured moves within the party to ditch Mr Rudd's democratic reforms. John Graham, Labor's assistant general-secretary in NSW, has spoken out in favour of direct elections, regardless of whether Mr Albanese contests or not. Outgoing ministers Chris Bowen, Ms Plibersek and Tony Burke have all backed direct election but Stephen Conroy is said to be fighting a rearguard action. Influential union leader Joe De Bruyn has spoken out publicly against change. In a speech to the Fabian Society, Mr Graham said: "I have noted some comments that we should retain the old system of electing our leader, returning it to the caucus. I reject that view. This new election measure is a significant step. It is a sign that Labor understands it needs to open the party up. A sign that leaders once elected will be supported.