Has Tony Abbott done a deal with Rupert Murdoch? Is the Murdoch press in Australia about to change horses, as they just did recently in the UK, and back the conservative political party in an election year?

Let’s read the tea leaves. Supporting the Liberals sits with Rupert Murdoch’s own politics … there is no apparent personal chemistry between Rudd and Murdoch … Murdoch hates intellectuals and wonks … there’s a distinct lack of personal chemistry between Rudd and some of Murdoch’s key Australian henchmen, notably Australian editor Chris Mitchell, who has been conducting a fatwa on Rudd  for a year or more … the Government decision to enrich the free-to-air stations is a large public snub to News Limited … Murdoch is on the record as opposing the Rudd and Obama stimulus packages … Tony Abbott is close to Telegraph attack dog Piers Akerman … Murdoch respects hard men like Abbott and dislikes liberal wimps like Malcolm Turnbull …  Murdoch loves to be a king-maker … Abbott needs to pull a rabbit out of the hat …

Of course there’s no piece of paper, and denials from both sides will be shrill. But you don’t need documentary evidence to confirm such a deal: it will be available for verification in the news and editorial pages of a dozen capital city newspapers between now and the federal election.

Watch that space.