On Tuesday night we watched Treasurer Joe Hockey deliver probably the most stage managed Budget in Australia’s history.
Stage managed because it needed to be – it has been billed for months now as the Budget by which Tony Abbott’s short term future as Prime Minister may well be decided.
When Mr Abbott’s leadership survived back in February, political commentators and experts very quickly turned to the Budget as his next hurdle to jump over.
Stuff up the Budget, they said, and it’s curtains for this nation’s 28th Prime Minister.
It is no surprise then that this Budget has all been about strategy.
There’s been the leaks to the Sunday papers, primarily focused around childcare given the type of readership those publications boast.
More detailed financial leaks found their way to the pages of The Australian, as the Government’s publicity machine went into an election-style campaign in preparation for the Budget.
By the time Mr Hockey stood up to deliver his speech on Tuesday evening, most of the air had been let out of the tyres.
And as much as Laurie Oakes, David Speers and the like were all salivating over the drama of Budget night, most people were over watching ‘MasterChef’ by the time Mr Hockey delivered his crucial speech.
Perhaps that was all part of the stage management, too. After all, despite being the man with ‘Treasurer’ on his business card, it has been Tony Abbott and Social Services Minister Scott Morrison who have been front and centre selling the Budget in the lead-up to Tuesday night.
Mr Morrison’s gaffe regarding Greg Bird on Monday didn’t help his cause but overall, he did a solid job selling the Budget.
Some would say he also did a good job in selling himself as Mr Hockey’s replacement. Only time will tell on that one.
The Budget itself has also been clearly crafted as the antidote to last year’s mess.
It’s been obvious for some time that the Government needed to win back mum and dad voters with a Budget that spoke to them, that made sense and that wasn’t prone to a string of embarrassing backflips.
Of course, if you listen to Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen, the Budget is no good. Mr Negativity has been in full voice this week.
Truth is though, it’s a good Budget, and a Budget that Mr Abbott and Mr Hockey had to deliver.
All things being equal, Mr Abbott’s leadership should stay solid during the Budget response period. He’ll have one or two hurdles just before Christmas to jump over and if he succeeds there, he’ll definitely lead the party to the 2016 election.
As for Mr Hockey, I fear the writing may already be on the wall given how this has played out in the lead-up.
Originally published in The Western Weekender