Genuine or expedient?

Is the prime minister being genuinely contrite when he says that if he’s re-elected he knows he has to change, or is this just a ploy from amaster manipulator determined to cling to power at all costs, even if it means eating a little humble pie? It’s probably a combination of the two.

The prime minister has been targeting key marginal seats with a large proportion of undecided voters in the hope he can drum up enough support in the right places to get across the line. His mea culpa, which turns his previous ‘‘you don’t have to like me but you need me’’ strategy on its head, is an obvious response to polling which suggests Labor is in a position to govern in its own right with 80 seats.

The most important takeaway from the polling is that after an epic five weeks of campaigning, between 12 and 14 per cent of voters are still undecided.Mr Morrison’s decision to address the issue of his unpopularity, coupled with his promise to change, is an obvious attempt to create some clear air given Saturday’s election is now so close.

Australians are openhearted and generous. Few would argue that thePM has not been working hard day-in and dayout to deal with a succession of crises since the pandemic began. What they haven’t liked has been his perceived arrogance and hubris.