Via The Australian:
Malcolm Turnbull has cemented his command over Bill Shorten as the nation’s preferred prime minister as the two leaders brace for a showdown over economic policy, with the government beginning to close the gap on the opposition amid signs disaffected voters are drifting back to the Coalition from One Nation.
While Liberal leadership tensions are likely to be put to rest, with Coalition voters overwhelmingly backing Mr Turnbull as leader, Bill Shorten’s pursuit of a radical left-wing economic agenda is set to be tested.
With the first Newspoll of 2018 showing the Coalition lifting its primary vote two points in the past two months, pressure is likely to intensify on the Opposition Leader, with Newspoll also revealing that almost half of all voters prefer either Anthony Albanese or Tanya Plibersek to Mr Shorten as federal Labor leader.
The Newspoll, conducted exclusively for The Australian, shows the Coalition edging back into contention and returning to a two-party-preferred vote it hasn’t enjoyed since April last year, providing a much-needed boost for the Prime Minister.
While still trailing 48-52 on a two-party-preferred basis, having barely managed to lift its vote above 47-53 since the start of last year, the one-point improvement since December puts the government within striking range of Labor.
It sure doesn’t say much for Bill Shorten that he’s not 20 points ahead of the worst government in living memory.
Still, it is interesting to see the One Nation vote “drifting back” to the Coalition. As said many times, this is the key and without it the Coalition will never rule again. It may be the result of:
- the Botox Boom;
- strong anti-China rhetoric;
- Tony Abbott’s mooting of immigration cuts;
- Labor’s open borders mania.
Or just One Nation’s inept showing in the QLD election and subsequent falling apart around candidates. It’s most likely the last, I’d guess.
Alas, if it persists, it means we’re stuck with Do-nothing Malcolm to the election.
