After last year’s disastrous federal budget, the Abbott Government knew it had to make this year’s budget palatable to voters or the leader might as well have packed up and gone home.

As a result, the budget was short on real reform and failed to address the real issues Australia faces in the long-term, such as falling revenues, tax reform, an ageing population and an increasing reliance on welfare.

However, it did serve to shore up Mr Abbott’s position as leader and give him genuine hope for the future.

Failing some unforeseen catastrophe, Tony Abbott is the man most likely to lead the Coalition to the next election.

The softer, fairer approach in the budget has placed the Coalition and the Opposition on an equal footing after preferences, according to a Fairfax-Ipsos poll.

While politicians always pretend that they take no notice of opinion polls and maintain that only one poll counts — the election — Mr Abbott will surely be delighted with the jump in the preferred prime minister count. Mr Abbott is on 49 while Labor leader Bill Shorten is on 39.

So what’s next?

While Mr Abbott has come under some pressure to consider an early election this year while voter support is high, that is unlikely because there are still challenges ahead with female voters, young voters and a distinctly hostile Victorian electorate.

A big problem for Mr Abbott if he does not go to the polls early will be delivering another voter-friendly budget like this one. It will be an impossible task and one that will make the government look like it has lost the appetite for making hard decisions in favour of political popularity.

While he is riding high for the moment, Mr Abbott still has some work to do to show that he can hold together his government while at the same time proving that he can listen to voters and act on their concerns. In other words, he still needs to tick the leadership box before he can rely on the support of a fickle electorate.