So, by 11am tomorrow (17 July), we will have a Federal election date. I'm pretty excited, because it is the first Federal or State election campaign that I will (hopefully) have an active but small part in as an Executive member of the Bendigo FEA.
I'm looking forward to observing how a professional campaign is run, and how it contrasts it with my Council efforts.
Will Julia win? Gut feel is, of course she will, with an increased majority. TAbbott has been keeping a low profile lately, but that option will not be available when the election is called. Abbott will self-combust at some stage (remember what happened at last election when he was just the Health Minister), the trick is whether the media will report his gaffes as breathlessly/stridently as the Labor errors.
I'm hoping for something inspirational, something to grab the attention something that will make people actually care. Julia nearly had it with her Asylum seeker speech at the Lowy Institute, but fell short. My fear is that it will be another long slog - 33 days of meaningless rhetoric, dodgy pressers and endless carping about semantics. And then, when Election day finally rolls around, the voters approach it with a feeling of relief that it is finally over, rather than one of hope and expectation.
