Julia Gillard’s personal approval ratings have slumped further, according to new polling from Essential Research, but Tony Abbott has accompanied her into the lower depths of unpopularity.
The Prime Minister’s approval ratings have worsened slightly since April, with an approval rating of 31% (down one) and disapproval up two to 60%. Her net disapproval rating, 29%, is her equal worst result since September.
Abbott’s rating fell by more: his approval is down two to 36% and disapproval up three to 53% since April. Gillard still leads Abbott as preferred PM, but only by the barest of margins: 38-37%.
Last week’s budget generally rated poorly with voters. Seventeen per cent thought it would be good for them personally, compared to 26% who thought it would be bad for them — although that was better than the 2011 result of 11-29%. More people thought it would be good for working people — 31-24% — (which was Labor’s primary aim) but only 10% thought it would be good for Australian business, compared to 20% last year.
For the economy overall, 26% thought it would be good, compared to 32% who thought it would be bad, a slightly worse result than 2011.
Curiously, though, most of the salient features of the budget drew strong support. Reduced defence spending only garnered 48-43% approval but dental health spending was a big hit, earning 87% approval; the education refund was supported 60-33%, increasing superannuation taxes on higher income earners 60-31%, and even the controversial tightening of eligibility for assistance for single mothers did well, 65-25%.
And despite previous ambivalence about the return to surplus on the part of voters, that also earned strong approval: 61-26%.
Wayne Swan has the barest of leads over Joe Hockey as economic manager, 34-33%, although given Labor’s generally poor reputation with voters, this might be accounted something of a win for Swan.
On voting intention, little relief for Labor after last week’s catastrophic numbers — it gained a single point on its primary vote to move back to 30%. The Coalition remains on 50% and the Greens on 11%; the 2PP outcome is 57-43, down slightly from last week.
Well, well, the public has truly gone mad with this schizophrenic
result. Likes the salient features of the budget but not the budget
overall. Huh?
Clearly, it must be too embarrassed to resile from its stupid,
entrenched views about the government.
Bernard. One moment it appears he has got his act together and sees the global picture but the next minute he spoils it all with this stupid ESSENTIAL dumbing down stuff. I was hoping the tide was slowly turning and at least some journalists gradually got an inkling as to the damage done to the national psyche. Guess not! Bernard like everyone else is caught up in this grubby and slimy personality cult. Disappointing to say the least.
@Karen Whilst I was typing you just got in before me! Forget about Bernard. As I said before about him “appearing to be insightful one moment and a pure polemicist the next”. A prolific self opinionated writer of fact and fiction who really doesn’t seem to give a damn about anyone or anything as long as he pumps out his stories. Time to give up on these journo’s.
I have finally worked out what the problem is. Julia Gillard when deputy, once had a popularity rating right up there with Rudd’s at a time when Rudd could do no wrong. This I think seduced the power brokers into believing that Rudd ( I imagine a bit too independent minded for their liking), could be replaced without too much fuss. Boy what a miscalculation! The Keystone Cops were on the set in a matter of weeks.
On the other hand, the electorate has never been under any illusion as to what Abbott is likely to deliver so they can hardly feel spurned if the worm turns. If nothing else his “love rating” has been consistent and so it is not driving the LNP brand to the extent that it perhaps is Labor. And it appears there is even more scandal ‘n spice to come from the crescendo of tweets about some fellow who follows his leader without question.
The problem with all these pollies is that they are conned into believing that they are the “elite” when in fact they are the maintenance men/women for the “elite”. When ego is great expect blindness and deafness to soon descend and engulf the individual. Thereafter its all tears and teeth gnashing as the real masters abandon their janitorial staffers to the sacrificial pyre of the masses’ only to return scorched and chastened three years later whence they are inserted into a cushy quango, luckily situated where the coffee is great, the restaurants are better and the hoi polloi are nowhere to be seen while super accumulates at a clip untroubled by expenditure.
Oh dear what have we the people let happen!
This writer in another article cleverly talks about
“Assertion-based and reality-based communities”
Where does he think he fits in?
He finished this particular article with this paragraph:
“As our politics becomes more and more a contest between assertion and reality, between “they just are” and logic and evidence, those sections of the mainstream media that have not joined News Ltd in the former camp need to consider what role they want to play in the new paradigm and the extent to which they’re prepared to mislead their readers in their coverage”.
Sometimes the damage is done by the way one frames an argument. Some “churnalists”as we all know are extremely good at it!
What role does Crikey want to play, I ask myself!