JULIA Gillard is adamant that the seven months leading to the September 14 election will not be Australia's longest election campaign. The Prime Minister may be adamant, but she's wrong. What Gillard has done is formalise an informal election campaign in an attempt to maximise the advantage of office, to draw on the authority of being a working prime minister and to apply pressure on Tony Abbott and the opposition to announce and cost policies well before the official election campaign starts on August 12.