Detail-oriented. Unflappable. Finance-wonk. Relentlessly on-message.
I asked a few backroom people from the major parties to describe the qualities of Liberal Finance Minister Mathias Cormann and Penny Wong, Labor’s Senate leader.
The same set of words was used to describe them both. It’s no accident that their parties have chosen them to be their campaign talking heads.
Take day one of the campaign. From morning til night they were on radio and TV, mostly appearing in quick succession and then sparring head to head.
This exchange on the ABC’s 7:30 Monday night was classic Mathias and Penny.
MATHIAS CORMANN: It doesn't say any such thing. It's an entirely unremarkable internal document.
PENNY WONG: Yes, it does. Come on, Mathias. You're the Finance Minister.
MATHIAS CORMANN: Incidentally, not the - not an official document of the Reserve Bank. Penny, I mean, honestly?
PENNY WONG: Well, I mean, really. It does say that.
MATHIAS CORMANN: Like, so - I'm answering - I'm answering Leigh's question.
Expect to see and hear as much of these two as Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten.
They’ve been assigned to stay put in Canberra to simultaneously hammer home the broader themes and bicker over the policy minutia. While the other key faces criss-cross the country, pressing the flesh in the ground battle that is marginal seat campaigning.
That both Cormann and Wong are high profile senators who will safely be returned, in Western Australia and South Australia respectively, means they can afford to stay in Canberra; unlike their lower house colleagues.
This is how one seasoned campaign staffer explained the rather thankless task at hand for the senators.
The staffer readily acknowledged that feeding the 24 hour media beast, especially the rolling TV news channels, is key. The job description involves doing a lot of the daily negative work, finding holes, picking apart the detail, freeing up the leaders to communicate a cleaner, more positive message.
Mr Turnbull and Mr Shorten will of course go negative when they need to. It works.
Senators Cormann and Wong will also need to carry a mop and bucket. Despite all the talking points, briefings and advance work, there will inevitably be blunders on the road, especially during a marathon eight week campaign. They’ll jump into a TV studio quick smart to straighten out the story.
They’ll also walk the halls of the press gallery, quietly having a word, as more newsrooms are keeping their senior journalists behind instead of sending them on the entire campaign. It’s so they too can assess the bigger story, something that’s hard to do in the almost carnival-like environment of the travelling leaders' roadshow.
So don’t expect Penny Wong and Mathias Cormann to be kissing babies or taking selfies in a shopping mall. Instead, these two will be quibbling over details in a windowless studio deep in Parliament House. It’s exactly where they need to be.
