As the final 10 days of the federal election campaign approaches, The Bug’s expert political analysts continue to deliver incisive insights to the reader of Australia’s No.1 family newszine and pray, not only for the soul of Pope Francis, but that the next week and a bit passes as quickly as he did.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton came under fire and other cliches yesterday for staging what critics described as a fake pause in the federal election campaign because of the death on Easter Monday of Pope Francis.

Yesterday morning both leaders made a point of attending Catholic Church services to remember the late Pontiff after which both declared they were suspending their campaigns.

But while Mr Dutton retreated from the public eye after leaving St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, Mr Albanese not only attended a memorial mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne but then was driven at high speed to more services at 10 Catholic churches in key Melbourne metropolitan seats.

The third leaders’ debate of the campaign went ahead last night despite the supposed pause in campaigning.

It was hosted by the Network Nine and moderated by the host of A Current Affair —— (Note to subs: Can someone fill in her name? I have no idea who she is. Is it still Jana?) with questions coming from a panel of three political reporters.

Mr Albanese (at right in main picture) appeared taken aback by suggestions that he was “milking” the Pope’s death in a bid to capture the Catholic vote.

“I was born and raised a Catholic,” he protested. “I have a deep knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith and a strong commitment to it, despite never having actually gone to church for decades until very late on Easter Monday afternoon.”

When a reporter on the panel tested his assertion by asking Mr Albanese if he could explain the Stations of the Cross, he appeared puzzled and fell silent for several moments.

“Ummm…. Well, there’s a station at the Cross itself,” he began cautiously. “The next one inbound would have to be Martin Place.

“Outbound on the eastern line the next one would be… ummm, Bondi Junction. No! Wait! It’d be Edgecliff then Bondi Junction,” he said with a satisfied smile.

Mr Dutton (far right at left in main picture) also brushed aside suggestions that he was taking political advantage of the Pope’s death after he used one of his answers in the debate to claim Prime Minister Albanese was too weak to guarantee that the next Pope would be an Australian.

“I have already said that even though I don’t know him and have never met him, as prime minister I would fly to Washington and negotiate a deal with President Trump that meant Australia would be the only nation in the world to escape the tariffs he is now imposing on our exports to the US,” Mr Dutton reminded viewers.

“Similarly, only I as prime minister could fly to Rome and ensure that the concave [sic] of Catholic carnivals [sic] due to assemble soon in the Sixteen Chapel [sic] will choose an Australian as the next Pope.”  

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Roy Morgan lobbed yesterday, pushing Labor out to a 55.5/44.5 margin.This moves the average of the six polls we are monitoring a squeak further to Labor – about 53.16 to 46.84 2PP. With another long weekend looming, has time run out for the LNP?

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And as for the bookies, at around 9.40pm last night (Tuesday), here are the odds from the betting agencies that we are monitoring, compared with 24 hours earlier!

Sportsbet: Labor $1.22 ($1.22); Coalition $4.30 ($4.30)
Ladbrokes: Labor $1.20 ($1.20); Coalition $4.50 ($4.50)
TAB: Labor $1.20 ($1.20); Coalition $4.50 ($4.50)
bet365: Labor $1.20 ($1.20) Coalition $4.50 ($4.50).
Neds: Labor $1.20 ($1.20); Coalition $4.50 ($4.50).

Hmmm! Looks like the punters and the bookies have really lost interest.

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Did anyone out there in BUGland really care where Peter Dutton was when the People’s Pope shuffled off this mortal coil?

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Anyone else out there in BUGland who just loves the smell of desperation in the morning? Sky LNPNews “reporter” Laura Jayes blasted Monique Ryan for refusing to answer her gotcha questions at a polling booth in the Kooyong electorate.

Jimmy Paterson and Andrew Bolt waded in, almost scarlet with rage over the pollie’s refusal to engage with Jayes.

Here’s a tip for Jayes, Jimmy “did he really work for me?” Paterson and Bolt. Given appropriate notice and a suitably agreed time to chat, Ryan would most likely have been happy to talk to a real journalist. She’s a doctor, you know, so it’s in her DNA to help whenever she can.

What a monstrous beatup by Sky LNPNews! Don’t we all just love the smell of desperation in the morning! And let’s hope with all this risible, far-right, nonsense, that Ryan wins by the length of her stethoscope.

BREAKING OVERNIGHT: Hospitals around the nation are struggling to deal with a ramping crisis after countless Nine Network debate viewers were rushed to emergency departments suffering from shock after hearing that last night’s panel at a network studio that has hosted a $10,000-a-seat fund-raiser for the Liberal Party had scored the debate in Peter Dutton’s favour.

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