(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The popularity of Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd remains strong, according to a poll by Newspoll published in The Australian. 57 per cent of respondents are satisfied with Rudd’s job as head of government, down one point since early August.

Australia held a federal election in November 2007. Final results gave Rudd’s Australian Labor Party (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. 31 per cent of respondents are satisfied with Nelson’s performance as opposition leader, unchanged since earlier this month.

In the preferred prime minister category, 65 per cent of respondents choose Rudd—down three points in two weeks—while 14 per cent pick Nelson as head of government.

On Aug. 27, Nelson criticized Rudd’s record as prime minister so far, stating, "We’ve got a whole variety of stunts and things that are intended to manage a 24-hour news cycle but we don’t have real decisions which affect Australians as far as their cost of living pressures. (...) We’ve got no clear strategic economic direction for the rest of this term of government".

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 1,136 Australian voters, conducted from Aug. 22 to Aug. 24, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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