A million calls to scare people about Tony Abbott: Labor strategists have embarked on an under-the-radar telephone blitz aiming for 1 million personal calls by election day, in the hope of turning around their flagging campaign with under a fortnight to go. Internal records from the Labor campaign, obtained by Fairfax Media, reveal the party machine has placed its confidence in the direct marketing approach, making 865,241 telephone calls to marginal seat voters since the election race began less than a month ago. The 1 million-plus call target represents a tenfold increase on the number rung by Labor in the entire 2010 campaign. Many of the calls are being made by MPs and candidates as well as volunteers, replicating an American campaign technique.