Howard thinks its all a bit of a joke

With all the opinion polls continuing to show Labor with a strong lead over the government, despite the government’s attempts to discredit Kevin Rudd, and despite all the budget goodies last week, John Howard quipped tonight that it is possible people surveyed for the latest polls might have been joking when they said they intended to vote Labor.

In the latest poll, published today, the ALP has a 2 party preferred percentage of 59 compared with 41 for the government …Labor’s position having improved 2% (and the government’s worsened by the same) since last month.

Mr Howard said he intended to campaign strongly in the lead-up to the election on the damage a Labor government would do to the economy, especially through its industrial relations policies.

“What I intend to do is to point out the consequences more strongly of a Labor victory because there are economic consequences,” he said.

“I think the Labor Party to date has got away with this proposition that the economy will sail on unmolested if a Labor government is elected.”

So, stand by for shitloads of government advertising trumpeting the government’s virtues, and then the big scare campaign against Kevin Rudd when the election gets closer (the Liberal party will have to pay its own way on that one).

My feeling is that the government’s failure to connect on attacking Labor is because voters are basically lining up to beat the crap out of Howard and team at the election later this year. Howard can’t win it …but Labor can screw it up and lose it by shooting themselves in the foot.