PM targets Mr Bet Each Way

DESPITE an embarrassing week, John Howard's tactic to nail Kevin Rudd is clear - he will depict Rudd as a political chameleon without conviction, being all things to all people.

DESPITE an embarrassing week, John Howard's tactic to nail Kevin Rudd is clear - he will depict Rudd as a political chameleon without conviction, being all things to all people.

Rudd's genius has been to project as a fresh and positive new leader playing both sides of most issues. But this has a limited shelf life.

The Government's big three - Howard, Peter Costello and Alexander Downer - are desperate to expose Rudd's dual messages. They have a growing body of evidence to help them.

Consider the list: Rudd campaigns as a climate change believer who won't hurt the coal industry; as an opponent of Howard's industrial laws who will look after small business; and as the champion of withdrawing forces from Iraq who upholds the US alliance.

Downer tightened the chameleon noose around Rudd at the close of the parliamentary week.

"His position, as usual, is every position," he said of Rudd's Iraq policy. "If you want troops in Iraq, yes, he can deliver that; if you don't, yes, he can deliver that. If you support the Americans, yes, he can do that. If you support the insurgents and the terrorists and so on, yes, he can deliver that as well. This country deserves an Opposition Leader with a bit of strength, a bit of commitment."

Downer and Howard only work in lockstep on political tactics. The latest Newspoll shows not only Rudd's high satisfaction rating, at 60 per cent, but also his very low dissatisfaction, at only 15 per cent. Rudd's success is that he doesn't offend. The goodwill factor is huge.

Rudd into hard choices and, if Rudd remains elusive, then to depict him as weak and without conviction. The problem for Howard is that Rudd can second-guess these tactics. He knows what is happening.

The message from the first fortnight of parliament is that Rudd, the most formidable Labor leader Howard has faced since 1996, will be very difficult to dismantle.