The celebratory beers after last Saturday's election victory were about as sweet as they come — especially for the Victorian division of the Liberal Party that tasted nothing but ashes last November.

But what absolutely cannot be ignored, is that in Victoria, the Liberal Party didn't have an election victory.

Victorian losses have been limited to two seats and the party has won in Chisholm and the Senate (hat tip to Frost, Liu and Van), but the fact is, the Liberal Party in Victoria has had another rough election at the hands of Victorian voters.

Labor's Libby Coker (centre-left) is on track to claim Corangamite. ( ABC News: Cameron Best )

For the eighth federal election in a row, the Liberals have failed to win a majority of seats at the election. Even the best predictions suggest the Liberals will hold only 12 out of Victoria's 38 seats — six of them as marginals.

The big negative swings in the Liberal heartland are not the green shoots of a political recovery, they're the early signs of electoral decline.

The Liberals can not afford to go backwards again. It is an outcome they can not accept.

So what's required?

Setting aside the obvious need to improve the candidate vetting procedures, the Liberals need to address three key things:

The Liberal Party made a strong electoral showing in Queensland. ( ABC News: Allyson Horn )

First, it must develop a seat strategy that puts Labor on the defensive.

There was a time when the Liberals weren't fazed about taking on Labor in a 5 per cent federal seat. Just ask John Brumby — the Liberal Party sent him packing in Bendigo!

Back then, Liberals had guts. The party pressured Labor everywhere and never avoided a fight.

Today, Liberals are the master sandbaggers: all defence, no offence.

It's time to change that

The Liberals 2022 federal game plan must be expanded to turn the tables on Labor and to put them under maximum pressure by forcing them onto the defensive all over the map.

Secondly, the Liberals must learn how to counteract the influence of Labor Premier Daniel Andrews.

As the Liberals have brutally learnt over the past six months, the grandmaster of Victorian politics isn't Bill Shorten, it's Dan Andrews. The bloke knows how to win.

If the Liberals are to mount a recovery in the double election year that is 2022, they will need to force Andrews onto the back foot. This will require a savvy combination of policy, campaigning and organisational reform to get them back in the game.

Putting up with anything less will see Premier Dan Andrews continuing to reign supreme.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 1 minute 38 seconds 1 m 38 s Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews reacts to federal election result

Third, the Victorian coalition must break apart Labor's electoral coalition of voters.

The Labor Party claims to represent miners, but they hate Australia's coal producers. They say they care about young families, yet they support legislation that runs contrary to traditional values.

At the centre of every Labor electoral majority is a conflicted heart and that's their weakness. Once we work out how to crack it open, the whole apparatus around it will shatter.

Rebuild relevance

Scott Morrison passed the 'pub test' with flying colours. ( AAP )

Looking forward, the goal of the Liberal Party in Victoria must be to deal themselves back into the federal electoral equation.

The deputy leadership and a cabinet of Victorian heavyweights offers a foundation for political recovery, but the number one challenge must be winning back a swag of lower house seats.

If Queensland and Tasmania can deliver the Liberals a third term, then Victoria should give them a fourth. That must be the ambition.

Last Saturday's drink was hard earned.

The plan now must be to enjoy another in three years' time off the back of a resurgent Victorian Liberal Party.

Asher Judah was the Liberal candidate for Bentleigh at the 2018 Victorian state election.