(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Kevin Rudd remains very popular in Australia, according to a poll by Newspoll published in The Australian. 71 per cent of respondents are satisfied with the way the Australian Labor Party (ALP) leader is doing his job as prime minister.

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. Brendan Nelson—a former defence minister—defeated former environment minister Malcolm Turnbull in an internal leadership ballot by just three votes. 38 per cent of respondents are satisfied with Nelson’s performance, up two points since early April.

In the preferred prime minister category, 71 per cent of respondents choose Rudd, while 10 per cent pick Nelson as head of government.

On Apr. 22, Nelson defended Howard’s record, saying, "John Howard almost lost government giving Australia’s future the tax systems that it needs to fund our schools, our hospital, our roads and our defence forces."

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 1,144 Australian voters, conducted from Apr. 18 to Apr. 20, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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