Anthony Albanese, Australia's prime minister, speaks at the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia, on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. - Bloomberg
CANBERRA: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labour Party is trailing the opposition coalition despite a summer campaign blitz, according to the latest opinion poll ahead of an election that must be held by mid-May.
A Newspoll survey released by The Australian newspaper on Sunday (Jan 26) showed that voter support for the center-left Labour Party dropped to 49 per cent while that for the centre-right Liberal-National Coalition opposition climbed to 51 per cent. They were tied at 50 per cent at the December poll.
While the latest polling shows the two main contenders remain statistically tied, the overall trend is looking positive for the opposition. Liberal leader Peter Dutton also saw a slight uptick in his approval in the latest survey at 40 per cent, beating the prime minister’s 37 per cent.
Albanese is facing an uphill battle to hold onto power, with Australians increasingly frustrated by three years of economic difficulties including a national housing crisis and escalating cost-of-living pressures which have seen the key interest rate climb to a 13-year high.
If his center-left government is defeated, it would be Australia’s first in almost a century to lose office after just one term. Newspoll’s survey showed 57 per cent of voters aren’t in favor of Albanese’s performance, worse than Dutton’s 51 per cent disapproval rating.
Albanese told Sky News on Sunday that his government had underestimated the long-term impacts of the war in Ukraine on global energy prices and inflation.
"What I’m confident of is that I lead a government that’s focused, that’s orderly, that has seen Australia through some very difficult economic times, that we are heading in the right direction, and that we have an agenda to build on that in our second term,” he said.
Australia must head to an election by May 17, although Albanese can call an earlier vote if he thinks it will give him a better opportunity to hold power. Quarterly inflation data due on Jan. 29 is seen as crucial to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision on whether it can start easing interest rates sooner rather than later.
At its current polling, Labour would likely need the support of minor parties and independent lawmakers to stay in power after the election.
The drop in support for Labour comes despite Albanese campaigning across Australia in January, visiting critical swing seats and making new announcements to boost the green energy transition.
Over the weekend, Dutton announced a new shadow ministry and made a prominent ally, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, the spokesperson for government efficiency. - Bloomberg
