Anthony Albanese has suffered yet another setback, with a staggering number of Aussies believing the country is heading in the wrong direction, a new poll has found.
A Redbridge poll published on Wednesday found almost half of the 1,500 voters surveyed between November 13 and 20 shared the downbeat sentiment.
More than 50 percent believed that the Albanian government did not have the right focus.
When asked if it had the right priorities, 25 percent of Australians said they “strongly disagree” and 27 percent disagreed.
Only six percent of voters claimed to ‘strongly agree’ and around 30 percent of people viewed the government’s priorities in a positive light.
Redbridge chief executive Tony Barry said this was a worrying sign for the Prime Minister ahead of the federal election due in May 2025.
“With 48 percent of voters believing Australia is on the wrong track, and a majority thinking the Prime Minister is focusing on the wrong priorities, there is very strong sentiment among voters,” he told the newspaper. Daily Telegraph.
The poll showed Labor losing some of its traditional voter base, as just one per cent of working-class voters ‘strongly agreed’ the government had the right priorities, compared to 21 per cent of professionals and managers.
Anthony Albanese has suffered yet another setback, with a staggering number of Aussies believing the country is heading in the wrong direction, a new poll shows
About 38 percent of professionals and managers believed government had the right focus – almost double that of their peers (20 percent).
The decline in support from Australian workers is a huge blow to Mr Albanese, who likes to portray himself as someone with strong ties to the working class.
During his election campaign, he continually revisited stories from his childhood, recalling being raised by a single mother in committee housing.
The Prime Minister even described himself as a ‘working class boy from public housing’.
“Labour’s problem is that the Albanian is a ‘white collar person’ idea of a ‘blue collar person’ and there is a perception among their base that his priorities are not aligned with theirs,” Barry said.
“If they cannot reconnect with their base in the coming months, there is a real danger that some Labor seats that are not normally in play could be put on the table during the campaign.”
About 57 percent of Australians surveyed claimed they felt worse off today than when Albanese was elected two and a half years ago.
This figure pales in comparison to the 31 percent of voters who thought they were better off now than when Albanese was elected.
The poll also showed a shift in public perception of whether Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was ready for office.
For the first time, the number of voters who believed Dutton was ready to lead the country exceeded those who thought he was not.
In November last year, the difference between those who thought Mr Dutton was ready was 20 points – to his detriment.
This fell dramatically to nine percent in April and fell further to six percent in July this year.
“There are a growing number of Dutton-curious voters who are more willing to accept the proposition that the Coalition is ready for government,” Barry said.
“In the last seven months, ready for government measurement, the coalition has gone from net -9 to net +1, representing a 10-point move that is a very significant move politically.”