The Australian Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, leader of the Liberal Party, does not often make apologies, but in the final days of the photo-finish election campaign he has been unusually conciliatory.
He has also returned to a quaint colloquialism of old to remind the electorate his rival, the Labor Party leader, Mr Kim Beazley, does not have the "ticker" or courage to be a real leader.
Tomorrow, 12 million Australians go to the polls, and the Liberal Party is counting on the fact that for 60 years no government has been thrown out of office after one term.
The pollsters are predicting a cliffhanger with preferences from the minor parties, including Ms Pauline Hanson's One Nation, likely to decide the result in many key marginals.
But despite Mr Howard's reputation as a social conservative who has lacked leadership on issues such as the high-profile race debate, his personal standing has rarely been higher for a leader at this stage of an election.
His rank as preferred prime minister has risen four points to 47 per cent while Mr Beazley, who needs a massive 27 seats to win, has seen his rating fall by one to 42 per cent.
It also appears that the main plank of Mr Howard's campaign, tax reform and a 10 per cent goods-and-services tax on everything including food, has not been a complete turn-off to the electorate despite Labor's scare tactics.
So in his late run for victory Mr Howard - who at 59 is one of the longest-serving members in parliament and has battled many political setbacks to become Prime Minister - is now showing a somewhat softer side.
Yesterday the hardline monarchist finally raised the republican debate in the campaign and said he would be happy to accept a president as head of state instead of Queen Elizabeth if the people voted for it in next year's referendum.
"We won't as a government be opposing it [the republic] but we won't as a government be supporting it either. We are going to allow a free vote," he said.
Early in the week he apologised for what he admitted was the biggest mistake of his 2 1/2-year term, his angry tone of voice at a conference for aboriginal reconciliation which caused many people to turn their backs on him.
Mr Howard accepted he had been too sensitive to criticism about his controversial aboriginal land rights legislation. He was also forced to back down on unpopular nursing-home legislation after a backlash from the aged.
"They are the human errors of any government, and I accept I am a fallible human being, but the heart has always been in the right place," he said.
But his humility and change of heart have drawn little support from aboriginal leaders who said his apology was both appalling and belated.
Others have dismissed his sorrow as crocodile tears. Mr Howard, however, is angered by charges that he failed to stand up to Ms Hanson's xenophobia strongly enough and caused painful divisions in this multicultural nation.
"The people who say I've been divisive are the people who don't believe there is a legitimate conservative position on issues like aboriginal affairs, the republic and other cultural issues," he said.
"It's as if there is no legitimate conservative way other than barbaric, insensitive and race-based."
But the career politician, who is a Methodist and whose father ran a Sydney service station, is relying on his successes to defend his 44seat majority. These, he claims, include providing the lowest mortgage rates since 1970 and a tax plan which will produce jobs.
In his final major speech at the National Press Club in Canberra, Mr Howard yesterday said that even if he broke with historical precedent and lost the election he would not regret pushing ahead with the GST (Goods and Services Tax) plan.
"I know it's against the conventional wisdom, but whatever the result is I will have no regrets. Whatever the result is I believe I will have called it right for the long-term interests of this country," he said.
If, as widely predicted, Mr Howard does squeak in with a narrow and greatly reduced majority he is expected to soon face a challenge from his treasurer, the ambitious 41-year-old Mr Peter Costello.
Mr Howard believes he has the "ticker" allegedly lacking in Mr Beazley. But even if he is returned tomorrow he is probably going to need as much courage again to stay in the vulnerable top job as he needed to retain it.