Having failed miserably to sell his last one, Mr Hockey is now preparing to hand down his second budget on May 12.

It will be a make or break day for him.

The problem for Mr Hockey is that he is struggling to put together a budget that is fiscally responsible while at the same time being more acceptable to the electorate than his last, which was universally panned for targeting low-income earners while leaving the top end of town unscathed.

And he is doing it as government revenues continue to plummet at an alarming rate.

On top of that the International Monetary Fund has downgraded Australia’s economic outlook because of the downturn in commodity prices, particularly iron ore.

Unemployment is expected to rise and growth is expected to slow.

Mr Hockey must make savings and he must find a way to rein-in government spending without bringing himself and Prime Minister Tony Abbott tumbling down.

One of the major issues Mr Hockey is facing is that Australians are not used to austerity.

The country has enjoyed an unprecedented boom over the past 20 years. House prices have gone through the roof, consumer spending has been robust and most working Australians have reaped the benefits of high wages together with an excellent standard of living.

Mr Hockey has found himself in the position of Treasurer at one of the most challenging times in recent history.

Former treasurer Peter Costello has been a critic, but possibly forgets that when he was in government there was considerably more money to play with.

Mr Hockey is faced with the prospect of having to consider changes to superannuation tax concessions, pensions and negative gearing on investment properties to find much-need savings, all of which will be politically unpopular. 

He is between a rock and a hard place with no easy way out but if he doesn’t make the tough decisions now he will forever be remembered as a treasurer who missed his chance to set the nation back on course.