Peter Dutton tirelessly talks about the cost of living, so why couldn’t he get the price of eggs right?

Watching politicians flail on live TV is a live sport everyone enjoys … until you remember one of these blokes will soon be running the country.

In a stunt as old as time, the pair were asked to guess the price of a supermarket staple in their final debate and it went down like an airplane omelette. You always knew it was going to make you cringe.

To be fair, I don’t think anything can match NSW housing minister Rose Jackson’s wild assumption that Sydney rentals go for “ a couple hundred dollars per week”, but Mr Dutton’s Hail Mary comes close.

When asked what a dozen yolks goes for these days, Mr Dutton stumbled and gave a figure less than half the standard rate.

“$4.20,” he said, wildly oblivious to the fact a dozen standard-issue cage eggs at most supermarkets has pushed near $9 and in some cases, beyond.

Mr Albanese guessed $7, but only after Mr Dutton was told $4.20 would be lucky to get you six. His answer wasn’t as damning, but still isn’t a great look for the darling of Australia’s centre-left.

While it’s clear guys in this position don’t stroll down to Woolies for a bag of groceries every day — they have sponsored events to fill their bellies at — it should be said that if you’re running a cost of living smear campaign against your opponents, you’d hope your figurehead at least knows the basics.

That comment alone would have pushed an untold amount of still-undecided voters away from Mr Dutton. As someone who doesn’t feel like they have a dog in the fight — I’m a self-branded political hobo with no real home to turn to in Aussie politics — Mr Dutton’s comment rubbed me, and likely millions of others, the wrong way.

Last week, the Sydney Morning Herald ran a piece about “soft voters”, generally young people who feel like they’re always playing catch-up and have rapidly lost their optimism for any political party.

These are the people who can be swayed last-minute before they inevitably pick up the pencil on voting day. We like to include everyone in the process Down Under, even those who understand the man calling the shots in Canberra isn’t really going to change their day-to-day life. But we still make it compulsory for them to participate in the process.

Those are the people Dutton must target this week.

Amid the countless TV appearances speaking about complex issues like nuclear power, defence and trade, a simple slip-up over a dozen eggs has potential to send Dutton’s campaign tumbling down the basement staircase a-la Homer Simpson.

Unlike economics and tax policy, it’s an easy thing to remember for the hordes of Aussies who will no doubt be dragged into a conversation about the election this week.

They’ll be thinking about it on Saturday morning when they treat themselves to a $19 bacon and egg roll, and they’ll probably think about it again when they find a melted Easter egg in their jacket pocket while waiting in line for the booth.

The problem is that the rising cost of living affects (almost) everyone, and Liberal supporters doing it tough will be feeling a bit let down that their man hadn’t even brushed up on what it’s like to live in 2025 Australia.

Don’t politicians expect these questions anyway?

I really didn’t want to fill this article with lazy egg puns, but my brain is a bit scrambled after an hour of scrolling back through the debate.

Australia votes on May 3.