Who’ll decide the federal election? You will, of course. And it seems you already have.

But Crikey is interested in the people behind the pollies who influenced your preference — and are desperately hoping they can swing votes before September 14.

Four months out from polling day, The Power Index begins a new investigation on the election deciders. They’re the pollsters who shift the mood, the journalists who decide what you see on television and on your favourite website, the ad men and women crafting the campaigns, the unionists pitched against the Coalition, the lobbyists moving against Labor, the donors who’ll fund it all and the party backroom types driving the strategy and massaging the message.

If the election is a puppet show, we’ll tell you who’s pulling the strings. It might even change the way you’re going to vote …

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Crikey Calling is independent media for independent minds – in handy podcast form! Join the Crikey crew — including Canberra correspondent Bernard Keane, the country’s sharpest political commentator — for a lively (if somewhat wonky) look behind the scenes of politics and power in Australia.

In the latest episode, we look at budget week in Canberra and the economic constraints facing a likely future Abbott government. Will the Coalition be Labor lite when it comes to future budgets? Stream it or download here.