When the inevitable questions came about the political calculations in his budget, Jim Chalmers was ready.

“One of the things that I have found liberating,” he says on Guardian Australia’s podcast, “is I genuinely think if you get the big parts of a budget right, and you try and be very focused to people’s real lived experiences, and you try and get the economics right, then the political stuff will take care of itself.”

Well sure, treasurer. But the reverse is also true.

Economics and politics are the warp and weft of a federal budget, especially heading into an election year. As much as the “right” economics can keep the politics on course, getting the politics wrong can also derail an economic agenda, in both the short and longer term.

Despite Jim Chalmers’ passionate protestations, politics is woven over, under and through his budget, whose measures include both expedient one-offs and genuine reform, to shape the story the government is trying to tell.

The role of politics in its design is clear in how that story is being told. Albanese is rolling out his pitch to the Victorian Labor party conference this weekend.

“It’s a true Labor budget, through and through – because it’s a budget for all Australians,” he says in a written speech text, circulated in advance. “Every taxpayer gets a tax cut. Every household gets $300 off their power bill. Every state and territory gets more help to build more homes and build more social housing sooner. Everyone on the top rate of rent assistance gets extra help every fortnight. Everyone who wants to go to TAFE or university gets a crack at that opportunity. Everyone with a student debt gets a fairer deal.”

That puts paid to any suggestion they thought seriously about means testing the energy rebate. Chalmers has said it was so complicated and........

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