Analysis: ‘Everyman’ Scott Morrison in a race to connect with voters

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is fighting a race against time to define himself to the voters of Australia.

Unformed in the minds of most voters, the “everyman” ScoMo is relying on others to help fill in the gaps.

Since Monday afternoon, Morrison has channelled three different leaders.

He has mimicked, on more than one occasion, the way John Howard labelled Kevin Rudd as “cocky” ahead of the 2007 election in an effort to portray Labor as arrogant. It didn’t work.

Morrison has borrowed from Julia Gillard’s playbook by announcing the date of next year’s Budget, effectively revealing when voters will head to the polls.

In early 2013, Gillard announced a September 14 election date in a move aimed at taking control of the political agenda. It failed.

He has also channelled Victoria’s victorious Premier Daniel Andrews, who said voters had backed him because he got things done.

“He reminded people of some of the things that he had achieved in his time. We’re going to (be) reminding people of the things that we've achieved,” Morrison said.

This need to borrow from others is not the PM’s fault.

At the start of that crazy week in August, the then treasurer did not know he would have the keys to the Lodge five days later.

Since then Morrison has tried to pull together his party, map out a policy framework and prepare for an election while introducing himself to voters. He lost the seat of Wentworth in a by-election and yesterday an MP to the crossbench.

The Victorian election result has only amplified in the minds of many Liberals the depth of trouble facing the Federal Government and its PM-in-making.