Federal election 2016: Opinion - Coalition could be caught napping
DENNIS ATKINS: IT had to happen in an eight-week campaign with the whole thing taking a siesta - but the Coalition could be the ones caught napping.
Analysis
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IT had to happen in an eight-week campaign with the whole thing taking a siesta - going down the back of the battlebus to take a nap.
The week after the first leaders debate is the logical time to do it but it can be a deceptively easy way to lose ground.
Labor looks like it’s sitting back on on its heels, waiting for the middle of week five, just before the first pre-poll votes are cast and voters are likely to actually engage.
The Coalition might be a little too relaxed about this and could be caught napping - perhaps at the back of the bus.
One thing that is keeping some Coalition campaign strategists awake is the pushback from the conservative base about superannuation changes detailed in the Budget.
The contentious aspects are the $1.6 million cap for transferring money from super accounts into retirement accounts, an annual cap on concessional contributions and new tax treatment for people using transition to retirement schemes.
While these changes do impact a small cohort of people with super accounts they are predominantly Coalition supporters who are instinctively jumpy about any alterations to their arrangements.
This has caused some mid-sized donors to the conservative parties - those who kick in $5000 or $10,000 each election - to keep their wallets and purses snapped shut and complain to their local members.
It’s also causing angst among a small group of MPs who get jumpy whenever these people get jumpy.
Despite these jitters it seems extremely unlikely the Coalition will back down on the changes - before or after the July 2 election.
As one insider said it would make the Coalition look unable to keep its Budget together just a month after it was handed down.
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