That evening, after Malcolm Turnbull had confirmed a July 2 poll, a veteran Labor strategist turned key Canberra lobbyist, sent me a short but prophetic text:

Too many days, too few ideas, no light and shade. The f***-ups will dominate.

It was very clear this one-time political staffer was not yearning to join his former colleagues back on the campaign trail.

The longest federal election contest in Australia in half a century is proving as daunting for both sides of politics, as it must be tiresome for most voters.

After just several days of the campaign, the former staffer's text message seems more and more telling.

So far, both leaders have very little new to say to voters, and the empty budget coffers means there is not much they can offer in terms of new election promises.

As a result, the opening week of the campaign has been dominated by apparent divisions; on asylum seeker policy inside Labor, and continuing leadership tensions in the Liberal party.

The uninspiring pattern is likely to drag on for a while, because Government insiders say the record-long campaign is still in its "infancy" and the Prime Minister is in no hurry to make major announcements.

Starved of any real new policies to digest, the media will instead go searching for stuff-ups, which will subsequently feature more prominently than they would have in previous campaigns.

The goal for both sides will be to try to limit the blunders for another 52 days.

It is a daunting challenge.