Federal Election 2019: Labor vs. Liberal | What are the key party policies

Scary Scott Morrison’s attempt to frighten his way back into power isn’t working.

With just two months before the election, today’s Newspoll shows boosting voter trepidations over the future, particularly should Labor win the election, was a misreading of the electorate.

The Newspoll put the two-party preferred vote at 54 per cent to Labor and 46 per cent to the Coalition — a 50th consecutive Coalition loss in the survey.

Putting the frighteners through the public has seen them move more decisively to non-government parties.

The Prime Minister has adopted the negative campaigning which predecessor Malcolm Turnbull was told by Liberal officials would not work back in the 2016 election.

And that advice has been confirmed by 2019 opinion surveys, with little time left for a turnaround.

The Government has long planned to counter the savagely gloomy appraisals of Labor policy and the future in general with a big, happy news extravaganza — the April 2 Budget.

The negativity was to be contrasted with positive outlooks on the economy, employment and wages.

However, the slowdown in national economic growth and global disruptions, plus an absence of guarantees that stunted wage growth will improve, are making it harder for Mr Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to pump out cheery optimism.

The gloom could see even bigger cross benches in Parliament.

The slight improvement in the One Nation primary vote, from 5 per cent to 7, might be a sign that when the Government generates fears some voters decide the sources of the danger are the major parties who have been running the country.

The scare stories have been tumbling out as if they are Scott Morrison’s default political mode.

Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals leader pro temp Michael McCormack on Sunday showed he was no slouch on this front, warning that Labor’s carbon emissions reduction program would end night-time cricket and football.

But that was merely a sideshow to the Prime Minister’s efforts on energy policy and border protection, and Labor taxes.

Mr Morrison has gone close to saying a Labor government would cause a recession.

Further, he has ramped up the consequences of Parliament’s passage of legislation allowing approved medical transfers of ill asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus. But even a flight to the Indian Ocean for a press conference on Christmas Island didn’t work.

The central question for the Coalition now is: What will work?

— Malcolm Farr is news.com.au’s national political editor. Continue the conversation @farrm51