PM finds his election mojo during debate

Health is shaping up as a winner for Labor after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd found his
election mojo during a nationally televised showdown with Opposition Leader Tony
Abbott.
What looked like a risky decision last week to agree to a debate with Mr Abbott
appears to have paid off for Mr Rudd, who clearly outperformed his rival in their
first clash of the election season.
But it was more about theatrics than policy, producing little new detail as the
prime minister took on the opposition leader during a nationally televised debate at
the National Press Club in Canberra.
The only initiatives of substance were a promise by Mr Rudd to consider tweaking his
funding strategy to protect country hospitals and a commitment by Mr Abbott to an
extra 3,500 hospital beds.
The showdown was a major boost for Mr Rudd after a tough few months.
He has faced sliding opinion polls since Mr Abbott became Liberal leader and has had
to deal with fallout from the government's botched home insulation program.
Without a substantial health policy to discuss, Mr Abbott was left to pursue a more
combative campaign, sometimes coming across as aggressive as he repeatedly attacked
the government's plan.
"If you can't trust a government to get insulation into people's roofs and computers
into schools ... how can you trust a government with the most complex service
delivery system of all, namely public hospitals," he said.
By contrast, a confident and assured Mr Rudd took a more proactive approach, urging
his rival to work with him on reform.
Mr Rudd said the public didn't care who was to blame for the failing health system;
they just wanted it fixed.
Labor wants to take over majority funding control of public hospitals.
"It's time that as leaders we stopped pointing the fingers at one another and
started to point to the way ahead," Mr Rudd said.
"Let's work together on how we build a system for the future."
He wasn't, however, above making political points, repeating his refrain that Mr
Abbott had stripped $1 billion from hospital funding as health minister and accusing
him of offering nothing but negativity.
"All I've heard so far from Mr Abbott is a negative on everything the government has
said and done," Mr Rudd said.
Mr Abbott was willing to consider a bipartisan approach but with a proviso.
"I tell you what Kevin, you stop telling lies about me and I'll work constructively
with you, that's a fair deal," he said.
Mr Rudd's strong showing gives him a solid platform to sell his message on health
during a seven-week parliamentary recess and greater authority to coerce premiers to
fall into line before a Council of Australian Governments (CoAG) meeting on April
19.
He will meet Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett on Wednesday.
If policy substance was scarce during the debate, the style of the leaders certainly
had an impact on the viewing public, who overwhelmingly declared Mr Rudd the victor.
The Nine Network "worm" - a gauge based on opinions from an audience of swinging
voters - declared Mr Rudd the winner by a margin of 71 to 29.
The opinion was the same on Twitter and the Seven Network's Polliegraph.
In his closing address, Mr Abbott judged it a "good debate" but he later told
reporters he wasn't surprised the worm didn't like him.
"That doesn't surprise me; there hasn't been any Liberal leader who the worm has
liked," he said.