Well, Malcolm the Magnificent has pulled the trigger and we're all in for another 4 weeks of nauseating political spin.
I'm sure when he first thought out this strategy he envisaged having much better polling at the start of the campaign than he has now.
I like Malcolm, but that doesn't mean I trust Malcolm. I don't really like Bill Shorten, but I don't trust him either.
It doesn't really matter which way I vote in my electorate, as it is nowhere near marginal.
Anyway! Here's how I think things will pan out (so far):
The Coalition will scrape in again, but with a reduced majority in the lower house, and they will not control the Senate.
Most of the current Senate crossbenchers will disappear (I think Xenophon, Lazarus, and Lambie will survive).
Although Malcolm wins, he is still saddled with a party littered with ultra right wingers that will hamstring his ability to negotiate a way forward in either House.
It's early days in the campaign, so it's really too early to call, but however it turns out, as long as Sophie Mirabella gets absolutely thumped in Indi, I will be a happy man!
What do you guys think? One week in and are you "over it" already?