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PM Howard Could Lose His Seat in Australia
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Australian prime minister John Howard is trailing the opposition candidate in his own constituency of Bennelong, according to a poll by Galaxy released by News Ltd. 46 per cent of respondents would support Maxine McKew of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), while 44 per cent would vote for Howard.
Australia's preferential voting system—where electors indicate an order of predilection for each contender, and the ballots from smaller parties are re-distributed—gives McKew a four-point lead over Howard.
In the October 2004 election, Howard was rewarded with a fourth term in office, as his Coalition of Liberals and Nationals secured 87 seats in the House of Representatives. The ALP—led by Mark Latham—elected 60 lawmakers. In December 2006, foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd became the new leader of the ALP, defeating Kim Beazley in an internal caucus ballot.
On May 13, McKew said the battle for Bennelong's House seat is not over, adding, "The prime minister has held this seat since 1974—he is exceptionally well known. It will require a miracle of gigantic proportions for Labor to take this seat."
The next legislative election is tentatively scheduled for late 2007.
Polling Data
Which candidate would you vote for in next election to the House of Representatives?
Maxine McKew (ALP) | 46% |
John Howard (Lib.) | 44% |
Other / Undecided | 10% |
Two-Party Preferred Vote
Maxine McKew (ALP) | 52% |
John Howard (Lib.) | 48% |
Source: Galaxy / News Ltd.
Methodology: Interviews to 800 Australian voters in the Bennelong constituency, conducted on May 9 and May 10, 2007. No margin of error was provided.