(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Fewer people in Australia, though still a majority, are expressing satisfaction with the performance of Kevin Rudd, according to a poll by Newspoll published in The Australian. 52 per cent of respondents are content with the prime minister’s leadership, down six points since early December.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Fewer people in Australia, though still a majority, are expressing satisfaction with the performance of Kevin Rudd, according to a poll by Newspoll published in The Australian. 52 per cent of respondents are content with the prime minister’s leadership, down six points since early December.
Support for Liberal party and opposition leader Tony Abbott stands at 40 per cent, up four points. In the category of preferred prime minister, Rudd leads with 57 per cent, with Abbott far behind at 25 per cent.
Australia held a federal election in November 2007. Final results gave the Australian Labor Party (ALP) 85 seats in the 150-member House of Representatives. ALP leader Rudd was officially sworn in as prime minister in December, bringing an end to the 11-year tenure of Liberal leader John Howard as head of Australia’s government.
Howard failed to retain his seat in the Bennelong constituency and stepped down as Liberal leader. Since their electoral defeat in 2007, the Liberals have had three different leaders: former defence minister Brendan Nelson, former environment minister Malcolm Turnbull, and former health minister Abbott, who defeated Turnbull in an internal leadership ballot by just one vote in December 2009.
On Jan. 21, Rudd spoke about the necessity of Australia becoming a more productive country, declaring, "It is important to understand that enhancing productivity is about giving workers and businesses the skills, infrastructure and positive business environment to work smarter. Higher levels of education and skills not only increase earnings for individuals, they contribute to higher overall productivity for the nation in the longer term."
Polling Data
Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Kevin Rudd is doing his job as prime minister?
|
|
Jan. 17 |
Dec. 6 |
Nov. 29 |
|
Satisfied |
52% |
58% |
56% |
|
Dissatisfied |
34% |
32% |
34% |
|
Uncommitted |
14% |
10% |
10% |
Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Tony Abbott (*) is doing his job as leader of the opposition?
|
|
Jan. 17 |
Nov. 29 |
|
Satisfied |
40% |
36% |
|
Dissatisfied |
35% |
50% |
|
Uncommitted |
25% |
14% |
Who do you think would make the better prime minister?
|
|
Jan. 17 |
Dec. 6 |
Nov. 29 |
|
Kevin Rudd (ALP) |
57% |
60% |
65% |
|
Tony Abbott (Lib.) (*) |
25% |
23% |
14% |
|
Uncommitted |
18% |
17% |
21% |
(*) Malcolm Turnbull listed on Nov. 29 survey.
Source: Newspoll / The Australian
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,144 Australian voters, conducted from Jan. 15 to Jan. 17, 2010. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
