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More Australians Praise Rudd’s Leadership
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The popularity of Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd has increased this month, according to a poll by Newspoll published in The Australian. 65 per cent of respondents are satisfied with Rudd’s performance, up four points since August.
The popularity of opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull is also up three points, to 33 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. Brendan Nelson—a former defence minister—defeated former environment minister Turnbull in an internal leadership ballot by just three votes. In September 2008, Turnbull won a new internal leadership race, edging Nelson by four votes.
Rudd is still the preferred prime minister by a large margin. The incumbent is first with 65 per cent, and Turnbull is a distant second with 17 per cent.
On Sept. 20, Rudd called for a "new, sustainable growth model for the future" to reduce "massive financial imbalances" between developed and developing economies, adding that, “Otherwise we may be looking at the prospect of flat global growth for a while to come."
Polling Data
Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Kevin Rudd is doing his job as prime minister?
|
|
Sept. 22 |
Aug. 23 |
Aug. 9 |
|
Satisfied |
65% |
61% |
60% |
|
Dissatisfied |
24% |
29% |
28% |
|
Uncommitted |
11% |
10% |
12% |
Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Malcolm Turnbull is doing his job as leader of the opposition?
|
|
Sept. 22 |
Aug. 23 |
Aug. 9 |
|
Satisfied |
33% |
30% |
26% |
|
Dissatisfied |
50% |
56% |
57% |
|
Uncommitted |
17% |
14% |
17% |
Who do you think would make the better prime minister?
|
|
Sept. 22 |
Aug. 23 |
Aug. 9 |
|
Kevin Rudd (ALP) |
65% |
66% |
65% |
|
Malcolm Turnbull (Lib.) |
17% |
19% |
17% |
|
Uncommitted |
18% |
15% |
18% |
Source: Newspoll / The Australian
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,150 Australian voters, conducted from
Sept.18 to Sept. 20, 2009. Margin of error is 3 per cent.