September 14.

Yesterday, Julia Gillard surprised the nation when she announced the date of this years Federal election - over two hundred days into the future.    This will be the longest election campaign in Australia's history. Another surprising aspect is that the decision was not shared with her caucus members - and this brought  mixed reactions.

Obviously Gillard is trying to stamp her hold on power as a " decisive leader ".   The decision to parachute an Aboriginal woman into the Senate in the Northern Territory was termed a " Captain's pick ", and some see it as " dictatorial ".   A long serving incumbent was ruthlessly sacrificed and the wishes of the ALP branches - were ignored.

Naming election day seems to be a " Hail Mary " tactic.   On all the evidence, the voters have already made up their minds and Labor looks set for the same drubbing it got in several state elections.  Gillard is hoping and praying that the long campaign may deliver a miracle.  Maybe the opposition will make a tactical blunder and she can turn this to her advantage.

It seems certain that there will be a relentless call for Tony Abbott to not only release his policies, but to have them costed.   The longer they are in the public forum, the better chance that the bean counters can disparage the correlation between what the policies will cost - and where the savings to fund them will come from     Both sides of politics will play the usual game of  " spin " in covering up cost disparities.

There seems to be another tactical benefit in setting this election date early.   Should the ALP's prospects continue to look dim as the days recede, the Rudd camp might convince nervous backbenchers that a change of leadership was their only hope.   With the voting date set in concrete, it is too late to change horses in mid-stream - and Gillard feels more secure in her job

Gillard claims that there will be a marked difference between her task of " governing " and the " campaigning "  prelude to the election.   We can certainly expect the government PR machine to be churning out favourable comment on government achievements in the period before the government goes into " caretaker mode " in early August.    This period could be described as the " Clayton election period " -  when the government is free to spend public money to enhance it's prospects - but without the hindrances of law that applies to an election campaign.

It is a bold move - but their are rewards and risks.   Perhaps the greatest risk is the damage that a sustained political bombardment may do to voter attention spans.    Short election campaigns intensify voter attention to the issues - but if this is dragged out mercilessly - that interest may become replaced - by boredom !

On September 15 - we will know whether this was a brilliant tactical move - or a total failure !.