Abbott ahead as Rudd calls Sept 7 election Labor is heading into the federal election as the underdog as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd tries to take the lead on the economy and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott focuses on stability. Just over five weeks since returning as leader, Mr Rudd visited Governor-General Quentin Bryce on Sunday to seek a September 7 lower house and half-Senate election. "It's on," he declared in a letter to ALP supporters. But Labor faces a tough battle to retain government after six years, two changes of prime minister and a federal budget forecast to be in deficit for at least three years. The first opinion poll of the campaign, conducted by ReachTEL for Seven Network, gives the coalition a 52-48 per cent two-party lead over Labor while Mr Abbott has a 1.8 percentage point lead as preferred prime minister with 50.9 per cent. Mr Rudd declared he was a "stronger person" since the June 2010 coup against him by Julia Gillard's backers and had a clear plan for the economy. "Who do the Australian people trust to best lead them through the new economic challenges that lie ahead?" he said, echoing the 2004 election war cry of former Liberal prime minister John Howard. Mr Abbott asked whether voters wanted "three more years" of Labor internal division and economic mismanagement. The real question was: "Who is more fair dinkum?" "We will scrap the carbon tax, we will get the budget back under control, we build the infrastructure of the future, and we will stop the boats," he added. Labor starts the election with 71 MPs, while the coalition has 72 in the 150-member lower house. The ALP needs a net gain of five seats to govern in its own right, while the opposition needs four. "You, the Australian people, know me pretty well - warts and all," Mr Rudd said. I would be deeply honoured to serve you the Australian people and the country into the future. The government's latest economic update - which projected a $30 billion deficit for 2013/14, a rising jobless rate and falling revenues - was the stark proof of Labor's mismanagement, Mr Abbott said. "This was a massive admission of failure," he added. If you can't manage the budget, you can't run the country. The opposition leader promised also not to negotiate with crossbenchers or minor parties should the election end in a tie as it did in 2010. Nationals leader Warren Truss, whose party holds 12 seats and is running 35 candidates in all mainland states and the Northern Territory, said regional Australia deserved better government. "Voters will decide whether our country continues down the familiar dead-end road of debt, deficit and dysfunction or takes a new path to progress and prosperity," Mr Truss said. Australian Greens leader Christine Milne, whose party is aiming to retain the balance of power in the Senate and hold on to its sole lower house seat of Melbourne, said voters should send a message to the "old parties." "We have our eyes firmly fixed on the big issues ... protecting the environment, building a caring Australia and creating a new diversified, innovative and low-carbon economy," she said. The September 7 election date means a planned referendum to recognise local government in the constitution won't go ahead - to the disappointment of local government groups. But the timing also means Foreign Minister Bob Carr is likely to take Mr Rudd's place and attend the Group of 20 leaders' summit in St Petersburg, Russia, on September 5-6.