The Coalition has overtaken Labor in the polls as more Australians abandon Anthony Albanese over the cost of living crisis.
The coalition has a 51.5 percent to 48.5 percent lead based on two-party preferences in the latest RedBridge poll.
It is the first time since Albanian was elected prime minister in 2022 that the opposition has defeated the Labour Party in this poll.
Just a few months ago, in April, the Labour Party was leading by a comfortable 4 percent, The Daily Telegraph reported.
The change in sentiment comes as more Australians become disillusioned with Albania’s policies to lower the cost of living.
Another pillar of strength for Peter Dutton is male voters who are abandoning smaller parties like the Greens.
Since April, support for the coalition’s primaries has fallen from 37 percent to 41 percent.
But in the middle and lower income groups the increase was even greater.
The Coalition has overtaken Labor in the polls as more Australians abandon Anthony Albanese over the cost of living crisis
Adding to Peter Dutton’s support are male voters who are abandoning smaller parties like the Greens
Among voters earning less than $1,000 a week, support rose by 6 percent. Among voters earning between $1,000 and $1,900, support rose by 4 percent.
Support for Labor among the two income groups fell over the same period: from 35 percent to 31 percent for people earning $1,000 a week, and from 36 percent to 31 percent for residents earning $1,000 to $1,900 a week.
Also worrying for Mr Albanese, who faces a federal election in May, is that Labor’s primary vote across all demographic groups fell from 32 per cent to 31 per cent, down 1.58 per cent from the previous election.
But it is good news for the Coalition primary vote, which has risen to 41 percent, up from the 35.7 percent of the vote Scott Morrison received when he lost in 2022.
The current rate is also close to the 42.04 percent that Morrison beat Shorten with in 2019.
Kosmos Samaras, director of strategy and analysis at RedBridge and a former strategist at the Labor Department, said many governments around the world are facing a similar situation.
Among voters earning less than $1,000 a week, support increased by six percent, and among those earning between $1,000 and $1,900, support increased by four percent (stock image)
“In many Western democracies, every incumbent government has lost or is trailing in the polls,” he said.
“This is a global trend fueled by an affordability crisis that, for many low-income populations, is worse than any recession they or their families have ever faced.”
Tony Barry, director of corporate affairs and communications at Redbridge, said it was “a difficult time to be an incumbent government” and he thought it was even harder if swing voters saw the government as “a mediocre incumbent government”.
“We are going to see a series of elections in many jurisdictions over the next 12 months and given the very negative mood in Australia, Anthony Albanese needs to outline a credible plan for hope,” he said.