Anthony Albanese has stepped up his claim for the prime ministership, declaring he is back in this contest and back in it personally.
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Fresh out of symptomatic "iso" and with work to do yet to reach full recognition among voters, he reckons he has Scott Morrison's measure.
Why? Because voters do actually know the Prime Minister and he is not the electoral plus he was. Labor's research shows this and so too, it seems, does the Liberals'.
Noticeably effervescent given his COVID bout, the Opposition Leader had plenty to lose when he fronted up to Perth's schmick new AFL stadium for Labor's official campaign launch on Sunday.
That it was held there said everything about Labor's hopes in the resource-rich west, as did the fact that it was staged three weeks before polling day. That speaks to the steep communications task Labor faces, but also to its intent.
Albanese is neither polished nor a natural salesperson. Honeyed reassurances don't trip off his tongue and is his voice is not hardly mellifluous.
But so what? Pauline Hanson struggles to breathe and speak simultaneously but communicates persuasively to her supporters. Barnaby Joyce's garbled homilies and shambolic appearance leave his regional backers unfazed also.
What both have is authenticity and when going up against a huckster PM with a clear record of blame-shifting, and sidestepping, the absence of artifice might just be a plus.
All in all, his speech was a modest but firmly laborist election pitch, strong on hope, optimism, and the power of a nation-building narrative.
After promises on childcare and gender pay equity, putting nurses in aged care homes, a manufacturing revival, cheaper medicines, extra funding for higher education and vocational training, and assistance for first home buyers, Labor built its case on the idea of actively shaping what its new slogan promises: "A Better Future".
This is a deliberate foil to Morrison's "how good is Australia", but carries a risk because it answers that jingoistic rhetoric in the negative. Yet Albanese's response is to argue both things: Australia is a great country "the best in the world" in fact, but is being let down by a bad government.
He says voters have worked Morrison out, reviving the quip of Emmanuel Macron to say, "they don't think, they know".
And the Labor leader sharpened his claimed advantage on personal character grounds, when he said pointedly, "I will show up, I will step up, and I will bring people together". The latter, a reference to Bob Hawke's unifying 1983 election campaign theme of consensus.
After a shaky start on day one, and his enforced COVID absence, any stumbles in the launch speech - understandable as they would be - risked reinforcing doubts about Labor. And about its leader.
Instead, with less than three weeks to go and pre-poll voting about to commence next week, it is Morrison under pressure.
This was evident in his unbecoming gibe at Albanese for not working 12-hour days while in isolation. Worse than poor judgement, this was poor form.
It is evident also in Morrison's open concessions to voters that while they may not like him, they should stick with the Coalition anyway.
Mark Kenny
Mark Kenny is The Canberra Times' political analyst and a professor at the ANU's Australian Studies Institute. He hosts the Democracy Sausage podcast. He writes a column every Sunday.
Mark Kenny is The Canberra Times' political analyst and a professor at the ANU's Australian Studies Institute. He hosts the Democracy Sausage podcast. He writes a column every Sunday.
