Labor on attack for Victorian seats as Kevin Rudd switches strategy Kevin Rudd has created a bounce in the polls since returning to the leadership. LABOR has dramatically changed its campaign battle plan for Victoria and now has its sights on winning two Liberal seats. Kevin Rudd's bounce in the polls since returning to the leadership two weeks ago, and his huge lead over Tony Abbott as preferred PM, will see Labor launch the ambitious attack on the Coalition's marginal seats of Aston and Dunkley. While Mr Rudd keeps the nation guessing about the election date, the Labor Party machine yesterday declared it was on a "full campaign footing." Money has also been poured back into the fight to hold the ALP's three most marginal seats: Corangamite, Deakin and LaTrobe. Financial support had been cut from those electorates as Labor gave up hope of winning under Julia Gillard. Scarce funding was re-directed to try to save safer seats such as Isaacs and Bruce. Labor needs to gain a net five seats to secure majority government. It hopes to pick up seats in Queensland but still fears some losses in NSW. Although Labor's two-party vote in Victoria hit a 60-year high of 55 per cent in the 2010 election under Ms Gillard, party strategists hope that Mr Rudd's popularity can snare them the outer eastern seat of Aston and the Frankston-based seat of Dunkley. Mr Abbott yesterday campaigned in Aston, visiting window and door manufacturer Jeld-Wen in Rowville. The Opposition Leader has visited Victoria more than 100 times since the last election. Mr Rudd had a rock star reception on a visit to Geelong last month as a backbencher, but has yet to visit Victoria since winning back his job as PM. He will today make his first big speech on the economy to the National Press Club, where he will describe himself as "an unapologetic optimist about our nation's future." Mr Rudd challenged Mr Abbott to a debate on debt and deficit, but Mr Abbott said it was a stunt and called on the PM to name the election date. Mr Rudd will use today's speech to describe Mr Abbott as "Captain Negative," who favours the easy politics of opposition but won't talk about the hard decisions of government. The PM will say he believes the economic challenges are "entirely manageable" and will hit back at what he describes as a "daily diatribe of negative politics," trying to make Australians feel the country is on the verge of falling apart. ALP federal president Jennifer McAllister said the national executive was prepared to step in to settle any disputes about pre-selection in safe seats such as Lalor or Hotham, which were being vacated by Ms Gillard and Simon Crean.