Post by ppyenews on Jul 25, 2007 6:31:18 GMT -5
Welcome to ‘Talkback Topic’ – I’m Phillip Pye.
As the next Federal Election gets closer it is becoming more, and more evident of the uncertainty the public has been blessed with by leaders of both major political parties, namely Liberal and Labor. Present Prime Minister John Howard is adamant that the Liberal Party will be returned to power irrespective of the Polls showing to the contrary. Rumours are still rife in the corridors of Parliament as to the Liberal Party’s leadership and Prime Minister Howard is refusing to let go of the stronghold that he believes he is entitled to. A special telephone Morgan Poll conducted over two nights in the first week of July found the ALP 18% ahead of the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis: 59% to 41%. Labor’s primary was 49%, Coalition 35%, Greens 7% and Independent/Others a high 9%, and of all electors surveyed, 4% did not name a party.
Labor leader Kevin Rudd says Australians can spot at a distance that the Government is in disarray as the latest Newspoll figures suggest that a change of Liberal leadership would not improve the Coalition's election chances. The poll shows that 60 per cent of voters say a Liberal leadership change would not affect their vote. Twenty-nine per cent say it would make them less likely to vote Liberal, while only 8 per cent say it would attract their vote. Kevin Rudd insists that we must remember Mr Howard is the one who told the country that disunity is death in politics, and there's a fair bit of disunity in the Liberal Party at the moment. He says "It's a legitimate question for voters to ask; 'am I going to buy Howard or am I going to buy Costello when it comes to this election?'." Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott has brushed off the poll results and says he remains confident the Government will win the federal election.
It was only a year ago that Treasurer Peter Costello said that John Howard had told him 12 years earlier that he would only serve one-and-a-half terms as Liberal leader. Mr Costello's comments confirmed former defence minister Ian McLachlan's recollection of a meeting in 1994. Mr McLachlan said at the time that he witnessed Mr Howard tell Mr Costello that if he won office he would hand over the leadership after two terms. The latest opinion poll suggests the Liberal Party would do worse at the federal election if Treasurer Peter Costello replaced Prime Minister John Howard as leader. Peter Costello's criticism of Mr Howard in a soon-to-be-released biography of the Prime Minister has allowed Liberal leadership tension to resurface, however the idea of a Costello-led government does not impress voters in the latest Newspoll, and Sixty per cent say a leadership change would not affect their vote. Twenty-nine per cent say it would make them less likely to vote Liberal, while only 8 per cent say it would attract their vote.
Labor is down a point in the latest poll to lead by 10 per cent but still holds a strong election-winning lead in the poll, despite a minor drop in support yet its primary vote still leads 47 per cent to 40 per cent. Polls are Polls however and as we well know, change doesn’t always mean a change. – I’m Phillip Pye.
As the next Federal Election gets closer it is becoming more, and more evident of the uncertainty the public has been blessed with by leaders of both major political parties, namely Liberal and Labor. Present Prime Minister John Howard is adamant that the Liberal Party will be returned to power irrespective of the Polls showing to the contrary. Rumours are still rife in the corridors of Parliament as to the Liberal Party’s leadership and Prime Minister Howard is refusing to let go of the stronghold that he believes he is entitled to. A special telephone Morgan Poll conducted over two nights in the first week of July found the ALP 18% ahead of the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis: 59% to 41%. Labor’s primary was 49%, Coalition 35%, Greens 7% and Independent/Others a high 9%, and of all electors surveyed, 4% did not name a party.
Labor leader Kevin Rudd says Australians can spot at a distance that the Government is in disarray as the latest Newspoll figures suggest that a change of Liberal leadership would not improve the Coalition's election chances. The poll shows that 60 per cent of voters say a Liberal leadership change would not affect their vote. Twenty-nine per cent say it would make them less likely to vote Liberal, while only 8 per cent say it would attract their vote. Kevin Rudd insists that we must remember Mr Howard is the one who told the country that disunity is death in politics, and there's a fair bit of disunity in the Liberal Party at the moment. He says "It's a legitimate question for voters to ask; 'am I going to buy Howard or am I going to buy Costello when it comes to this election?'." Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott has brushed off the poll results and says he remains confident the Government will win the federal election.
It was only a year ago that Treasurer Peter Costello said that John Howard had told him 12 years earlier that he would only serve one-and-a-half terms as Liberal leader. Mr Costello's comments confirmed former defence minister Ian McLachlan's recollection of a meeting in 1994. Mr McLachlan said at the time that he witnessed Mr Howard tell Mr Costello that if he won office he would hand over the leadership after two terms. The latest opinion poll suggests the Liberal Party would do worse at the federal election if Treasurer Peter Costello replaced Prime Minister John Howard as leader. Peter Costello's criticism of Mr Howard in a soon-to-be-released biography of the Prime Minister has allowed Liberal leadership tension to resurface, however the idea of a Costello-led government does not impress voters in the latest Newspoll, and Sixty per cent say a leadership change would not affect their vote. Twenty-nine per cent say it would make them less likely to vote Liberal, while only 8 per cent say it would attract their vote.
Labor is down a point in the latest poll to lead by 10 per cent but still holds a strong election-winning lead in the poll, despite a minor drop in support yet its primary vote still leads 47 per cent to 40 per cent. Polls are Polls however and as we well know, change doesn’t always mean a change. – I’m Phillip Pye.