Call to ‘chill out’ on election date
Australia won’t be going to the polls on August 24, Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says.
He says Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has no plans to visit the governor-general today, making an August 24 election impossible.
That leaves the following Saturday, August 31, as the earliest possible poll date and the firm favourite.
Mr Rudd is briefing the caucus today on plans for the election, with a spokesman telling AAP he is expected to warn his colleagues of a “tough campaign” against Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.
But Mr Albanese says people should just “chill out” on the election date speculation.
“I can assure you that the Prime Minister’s not planning to visit Yarralumla today,” he told ABC TV this morning.
Opposition frontbencher Christopher Pyne expects an announcement is imminent.
“I think they’ll go to the polls as soon as possible because the longer Kevin Rudd remains in office the more obvious it will become that he’s all talk and no action and you can’t rely on his word,” he told Sky News.
WHEN THE ELECTION COULD BE CALLED
* August 24: Not a goer, after deputy PM Anthony Albanese says Kevin Rudd won’t be going to Yarralumla today, the last day an election can be called for the second last Saturday in August.
* August 31: Firming as frontrunner. If it is, the PM will announce it by Sunday. It’s being pushed by some in Labor who fear the Rudd Mark II bandwagon might lose a wheel. The downside is release of corruption inquiry findings in NSW which will remind voters of what’s bad about Labor. Also coincides with possible regional meeting on asylum seekers. Referendum for constitutional recognition of local government can’t be held this early. Upside: it allows Rudd to attend G20 Leaders Summit in St Petersburg if Labor wins.
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* September 7: Unlikely because it’s on the same weekend as G20 Leaders Summit in St Petersburg. Someone senior, preferably the PM, needs to go because Australia is host in 2014.
* September 14: Julia Gillard’s preferred date which almost closes the door on it. Yom Kippur is a limiting, but not insurmountable, factor. Referendum for constitutional recognition of local government can be held from this date.
* September 21: Distinct possibility, although maybe a little too soon after G20 summit to overcome predictable criticism of Kevin 747 going global during an election campaign. It’s also the PM’s birthday – what a present if Labor wins.
* September 28: As much hope as GWS winning the AFL flag. It’s grand final day.
