Game On...
A Labor election win is no longer preposterousBy ABC's Barrie Cassidy
Kevin Rudd has brought Labor back from the brink of electoral defeat into a competitive position, and Tony Abbott will need to respond with more than just a demand that an election be held immediately, writes Barrie Cassidy.
How close will the federal election be?
Look at it this way. If the first polls after the elevation of Kevin Rudd represent the high water mark, then Tony Abbott and the Coalition will win.
But if it's not - if Rudd and Labor can improve on that first blush result, however slightly - then the Government will win.
In other words, there is an awful lot riding on that basic and unproven assumption that it will not get any better than this for Rudd.
The practical and psychological hurdle for Labor is that it must win seats - five at least - to form government in its own right.
That seemed preposterous just over a week ago. But not anymore.
The combined polls through last week suggest a turnaround in the two-party preferred vote of 7 per cent or more in the seats-rich states of NSW and Queensland.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-05/cassidy-how-close-will-the-election-be/4799892