Anthony Albanese faces another setback as Peter Dutton’s popularity continues to rise. A new poll shows they are almost tied for Australia’s favorite prime minister.
The Australian Financial Review and Freshwater Strategy Poll, published on Monday, showed the Albanian has lost his lead over opposition leader Peter Dutton.
According to the poll, 44 percent of respondents now prefer Albanians as prime minister, while 43 percent prefer Dutton.
The latest findings were in stark contrast to Albanese’s first six months as president in December 2023, during which he held a lead of as much as 55 percent to 29 percent.
Furthermore, the poll shows that the Coalition has led Labor in the two-party preference vote for the third month in a row, with 51 percent support compared to Labour’s 49 percent.
This reflects a change of more than three percentage points against Labor since the last election.
If this repeats itself at the next election, Labor could lose up to eight seats, reducing its total to 70, while the Coalition could gain up to 10 seats, increasing its current 58 seats, paving the way for a minority government in the Coalition.
A poll of Australian voters showed Anthony Albanese has lost his lead over opposition leader Peter Dutton as favorite prime minister
The poll also showed the coalition has put Labor ahead in the two-party preference vote for the third month in a row (photo, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton)
Meanwhile, Labour’s primary vote held steady at 30 percent, while the Coalition’s fell slightly by one point to 41 percent. The Greens’ primary vote remained unchanged at 13 percent.
The poll, conducted Friday through Sunday among 1,034 voters, found that Albanese’s recent $4.3 million real estate purchase had little impact on his personal popularity.
Respondents were asked whether the Prime Minister buying the luxury four-bedroom home in Copacabana on the NSW central coast had “changed your view of Albanian, or had no influence at all on your view of him”.
More than half, 52 percent, said their opinion of Albanians had not changed, while 36 percent said it had worsened their opinion.
Respondents were asked whether the recent purchase of a luxury home by Albanians (pictured) had changed their view of the prime minister
Voters also assessed the government’s handling of national problems, including the cost of living, housing, management of the economy, health and social care, crime and social order, and the environment and climate change.
Respondents felt the Coalition was the best party to manage these issues, with a significant double-digit lead on almost all six issues.
The Coalition had a 14-point lead on cost of living, a 16-point lead on economic management, and 19 points on both immigration/asylum and crime/social order.
The opposition also had a whopping 20-point lead on defense and national security.