The first call came in at two minutes past seven on Monday morning. The ABC's Sydney radio station, 702, wanted to know what I thought about the Daily Telegraph's front page.

Virtually all of it was devoted to one sentence: ''Finally, you now have the chance to KICK THIS MOB OUT''.

Rupert Murdoch: why does he hate Rudd? Photo: Bloomberg Credit:Bloomberg

No one who has even been glancing at the Daily Telegraph over the past year or so could have been surprised. Ever since Paul ''Boris'' Whittaker took over as editor, the Tele has been going for the Gillard government, boots and all.

But to lead off its election coverage with so savage an editorial kick at the Prime Minister's head is going it a bit, even for Boris. Especially as the PM is not Julia Gillard, whom most of the Tele's readership long ago decided it couldn't stomach, but Kevin Rudd, for whom many in Sydney still have a soft spot.