Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has fallen behind opponents for the first time in a key opinion survey after a range of controversial policy decisions as he readies for elections later this year.
Rudd remains on course to win a second term in most other surveys, but the latest poll will come as jolt: The last time the conservative coalition shaded Labor in the closely watched Newspoll was in August 2006, before Rudd won power in late 2007.
The new survey showed support for the Labor government down 5 points to 49 percent, while support for the conservatives soared 5 points to 51 percent after Rudd dropped several centerpiece policies that helped him win in 2007.
In the past two weeks, Rudd has dumped a promised emissions-trading scheme frozen in parliament, as well as a plan to improve national childcare. The government also hiked tobacco taxes and abandoned a controversial free home insulation scheme.
“It is very clear that Labor has taken quite a caning and the [conservative] coalition hasn’t gained everything it can from that. I think that probably is the story of this poll,” Newspoll chief executive Martin O’Shannessy said.
“It’s possible that we have a rogue poll, although, funnily enough, while there’s a chance of one in 20 that we get one over a certain percentage, the chance that we get one of such magnitude declines as well,” he said.
Rudd, speaking at a business function in Sydney, said the poll reflected tough decisions taken by government, but it was too early to see any trend.
“My job as prime minister is to act in the national interest, and if that means taking decisions which may be popular or unpopular, that’s part of the job,” Rudd said.
The latest Reuters Poll Trend shows government support climbing from two-year lows and with Labor holding a 10.4 point lead.
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