(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd is preferred by the vast majority of people over opposition leader Brendan Nelson to occupy the country’s top job, according to a poll by Newspoll published in The Australian. 65 per cent of respondents say the Australian Labor Party (ALP) leader would make the better prime minister, while 14 per cent pick Liberal leader Nelson.

Australia held a federal election in November 2007. Final results gave the ALP 85 seats in the 150-member House of Representatives. 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. Nelson—a former defence minister—defeated former environment minister Malcolm Turnbull in an internal leadership ballot by just three votes. 55 per cent of respondents are satisfied with Rudd’s performance, while 34 per cent are happy with Nelson’s job as opposition leader.

Earlier this month, former health minister and Liberal lawmaker Tony Abbott expressed concern over Nelson’s poor reviews, saying, "If the next couple of polls show the same thing, then I think obviously it starts to get significant."

Polling Data

Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Kevin Rudd is doing his job as prime minister?

Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Brendan Nelson is doing his job as leader of the opposition?

Who do you think would make the better prime minister?

Source: Newspoll / The Australian
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,137 Australian voters, conducted from Jul. 11 to Jul. 13, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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