Annastacia Palaszczuk lashes out after being photographed vacationing in Europe with her surgeon boyfriend: ‘Leaders need a break and I had a break’
- Calls for Queensland Premier to resign
- Labour’s primary vote stands at 26 percent
- Ms Palaszczuk will attend a Labor caucus meeting
Annastacia Palaszczuk has broken her silence after returning to work on Monday following an international holiday – saying she feels ‘refreshed’.
The Queensland premier flew back to Brisbane airport on Sunday evening after a two-week European holiday and a slump in the polls at home for the Labor Party.
Ms Palaszczuk will attend a Labor caucus meeting on Monday morning, just 12 hours after her flight home lands. Amid rumblings, her leadership may be in jeopardy.
After the meeting, she said: “I have led this party through three successful election victories and… what energizes me are the people of this state.
“That’s what drives me and keeps me going.”
A shocking new poll shows the major challenge Palaszczuk faces as she returns to work.
A recent poll by the RedBridge group showed Labor’s primary vote was just 26 percent, compared to 41 percent for the Liberals in Queensland.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (pictured) faces mounting challenges as her Labor Party sinks in the polls
During Palaszczuk’s Italian getaway, acting Prime Minister Steven Miles held a Cabinet meeting without her and said he had not spoken to the Prime Minister during her holiday.
According to a report in The Courier Mail, this was the first time in six years that the Cabinet had continued without Ms Palaszczuk, prompting speculation about an impending leadership change.
“Leaders need a break,” Palaszczuk said.
“It’s healthy for leaders to take a break and I felt I needed a break.” I thought (photos of her abroad) were an invasion of privacy.”
Mr Miles publicly backed the Prime Minister, insisting he and his fellow Labor MPs were fully behind her.
“No one has worked harder for the people of Queensland than the Prime Minister,” he wrote on Facebook during Ms Palaszczuk’s holiday.
“I’ll say it again: the Prime Minister is doing a great job for Queenslanders and she has our full support.”
The Courier Mail also reported that MPs had raised concerns about Ms Palaszczuk’s leadership in recent weeks, although none were willing to make their comments public.
“I’m looking forward to a big week,” Ms Palaszczuk told reporters waiting at Brisbane airport on Sunday evening, before saying she “absolutely” planned to lead Labor in next year’s state election.
Opposition leader David Crisafulli (pictured) criticized Labour’s ‘chaos and crisis’
Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli took aim at the returning Prime Minister and her party.
“Our focus is on the issues that matter to Queenslanders, while the state’s Labor government is obsessed with its own chaos and crisis,” Crisafulli wrote on social media on Sunday.
Queenslanders will go to the polls in October 2024, with Ms Palaszczuk seeking to win a fourth consecutive term.