PM presses poll option, finds his mojo

Malcolm Turnbull is no longer adrift.

Since he seized the prime ministership from Tony Abbott in September the poll gap with Labor has been gradually tightening.

The latest Newspoll gives the coalition a 51-49 per cent lead over Labor, but significantly for the first time Turnbull's net personal approval rating went negative.

Labor has been hammering the prime minister over the fact that he came to power with such expectation from voters and, months later, had seriously disappointed them.

The "ideas boom" was starting to look like a thought bubble.

Conservative critics within the coalition were starting to chip away at his authority, testing him on issues such as the Safe Schools program.

Turnbull has turned this on its head with his declaration that a double-dissolution election will be held on July 2 if the Senate does not pass industrial laws.

Like an ice bucket over the head, it will get immediate attention of his MPs - and perhaps that of the Senate cross bench.

The prime minister has a goal and a timetable and has clearly articulated what he wants from the parliament.

He has also put it in the context of the Liberal-Nationals coalition's election platform.

"Who do you believe is best able to continue successfully to manage Australia's economic transition?" he says.

"Who has the policies and the leadership that will ensure there is more investment, more innovation, greater productivity, and better jobs for your children and grandchildren?"

The question is whether voters will see it as arrogance and punish the government, or an acceptable way of getting rid of a frustrating Senate and reward Turnbull's bold vision.

Either way, Turnbull has found his mojo.