Malcolm Turnbull is sailing home with the wind in his hair

Malcolm Turnbull is coming home with the wind in his sails, Bill Shorten is running out of puff.

The Prime Minister’s final set-piece at the National Press Club yesterday was strong, a livelier presentation than most, and returned to the Coalition’s disciplined message on stability in government, economic growth and jobs, budget repair, spending restraint and certainty amid global “head winds”.

The effectiveness of the message has been enhanced by the ­financial volatility and political un­certainty of the Brexit vote in Britain.

Being able to rely on a wider strategic approach on the economy, backed by Scott Morrison’s budget savings strategy over four years, has enabled Turnbull to return to basic themes and not be distracted or diverted from a central message in the dying days of an eight-week campaign.

His confidence is palpable and growing as news comes back from the ground campaigns in the marginal seats and the published polls show momentum shifting to the Coalition as the ALP and independents peak.

Although the Labor leader had the early advantage in the campaign because of a series of individual economic policies put out by Chris Bowen well in advance, the lack of a cohesive overarching economic policy hollowed out Labor’s foundation.

Labor’s surrender on trying to match the Coalition on budget savings over the next four years and acceptance of a series of spending cuts it had opposed since 2014 were the end of the opposition’s financial fight.

Shorten’s desperate appeal to the Labor base through his fraudulent Medicare scare campaign and attempt to lure back Green voters with a strident claim about the plan for a same-sex plebiscite being homophobic were evidence of his lack of economic substance and failing momentum

Yesterday, Turnbull was able to confidently rely on an oft-­repeated message about economic certainty that not even the most uninterested voter would not have been able to escape over the past two months.

“Australians want the government they elect to get on with the job of ensuring we have a strong economy that can set us up for the future; in uncertain times globally, they are looking for a greater sense of common purpose,” he said.

Seemingly without irony, Turnbull confronted the issue of internal divisions and leadership changes: “I believe they want our parliament to offload the ideology, to end the juvenile theatrics and gotcha moments, to drop the personality politics.

“They want our focus to be on issues that matter to them — and an end to division for division’s sake.”

As the beneficiary of solid and loyal support from Tony Abbott during the campaign as questions already begin to arise about Shorten’s survival should he lose badly, Turnbull was even able to talk about uniting the nation.

At the end of an unwanted marathon, there is still disappointment with Turnbull in the electorate; he woke from complacency late but he’s finishing in front.

He has to hope favouritism translates into a healthy enough margin to give him the authority he needs to govern and deliver.