THE SQUIZ
With an election set to be called this week, the road to the starting line continues to be bumpy for PM Scott Morrison. From stinging character assessments to problems locking in candidates to more nasty polling, it’s all happening for the Coalition as we countdown to the campaign.

WHERE DO WE START?
Not at the beginning because ain’t nobody got time for that on a Monday… But let’s get across the claims that Morrison racially vilified the man the Liberals originally picked to represent his seat of Cook back in 2007. Michael Towke won 82 votes to Morrison’s 8 in the preselection ballot. But in the days that followed, Towke’s candidacy was picked apart, and he stepped down under a false cloud. Morrison ultimately became the candidate, and the rest is history – until now… Reports this weekend say Morrison told party members not to vote for Towke because he’s Lebanese (which is true), and some might think he’s a Muslim (which is untrue, he’s Catholic). That was a thing because it was less than 2 years after the Cronulla riots in December 2005 – and some party insiders believed Towke would lose the seat for the Liberals. Morrison said the claims are “quite malicious and bitter slurs which are deeply offensive, and I reject them.” It comes days after a colleague and opponents called the PM a bully.

SO AS WE STAGGER TOWARDS AN ELECTION, WHERE ARE THINGS AT?
Dualling opinion polls out this morning can shed some light on that. Both are taken after the Budget was delivered last Tuesday night, and both deliver a similar result. The Australian‘s Newspoll says Labor is ahead of the Coalition 54:46 on a 2-party preferred basis – that’s a one-point dip in support for Labor. And the Financial Review‘s Ipsos poll shows a 55:45 result in Labor’s favour. Both Morrison and Labor leader Anthony Albanese are in negative numbers when it comes to voter satisfaction via Newspoll. Still, the PM is a teeny-tiny bit in front as our preferred national leader, leading 43% to Albanese’s 42%, with 15% of those polled uncommitted. If this sort of result was delivered on election day, it would see Labor elected in a landslide. Note: these polling numbers are eerily similar to those before the last federal election, and they were wrong. The companies taking the surveys say they’ve fixed the issues, but #justsayin’…