THE SQUIZ
Saturday, 21 May. Yep, International Tea Day is finally here. Oh, and there’s a federal election… And like a good brew, the candidates have been steeping in the hot water of the campaign, and they now hope we find them refreshing and invigorating enough to drink ‘em up by the pot-full.

I DON’T WANT A CUPPA, I’M VOTING… 
That’s true, so onto details, eh?

●  PM Scott Morrison’s Coalition goes into tomorrow’s race with 76 seats – bang on the minimum number required to form a government in the 151-seat House of Reps. They need to hold onto every one of them if the Liberal/National parties are to hang on – or they need to win new seats to patch up any losses.

●  Anthony Albanese and Labor go in with a notional 69 seats and they need to win at least 7 to claim victory. Their result could be bolstered by support from the Greens, who pundits say could get more votes than last time. The polls are tipping a Labor win, but we went down that road in 2019 and look how that turned out…

●  And there are several seats where independent candidates are having a red hot go (or should we say a Teal hot go…) against moderate Liberal incumbents. Keep an eye on Kooyong (Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s seat), Wentworth (Dave Sharma), Goldstein (Tim Wilson), North Sydney (Trent Zimmerman) and Mackellar (Jason Falinski).

●  What do the major parties stand for? The Coalition has highlighted strong economic management as its policy cornerstone. Labor says it has a plan for a better future and that their government would be more accountable.

●  So where is this going? Dunno… Sure, there have been some stuff-ups and lighter moments along the way, but it’s likely to be a nailbiter. And a hung parliament isn’t out of the question.

ANYTHING ELSE?
Here are 3 useful resources:

●  The pendulum and swing calculator – if you’re into it, you can use this to see how the seats are tracking with, or against, the swing.

●  Who are all these Senate parties? Well, that’s a good question…

●  Which TV coverage to watch on Saturday night? Here’s a guide to who’s doing what on which channel. You’re welcome…

And a drink selection: as longtime Squizers know, we pair notable elections with a beverage. In celebration of our freedoms and free/fair elections, we’re going with a Moscow Mule. Seems totes approps for the times. And if you’re voting tomorrow, may your democracy sausage (map here…) be good.