The latest Newspoll figures are in, and things aren’t looking great for old mate Malcolm Turnbull.
His approval rating as PM has fallen into negative territory for the first time since he toppled Tony Abbott, with The Australian‘s latest audit of 2,049 voters putting satisfaction with his performance at 39% – a big dip from the 60% rating he got in mid-Nov.
Dissatisfaction with Turnbull has has risen three points to 44%, putting his net satisfaction rating at -5.
That being said, voters recognise he’s the more polished of two turds, putting him ahead of Bill Shorten as the best leader to manage the economy (54% to Shorten’s 20%) and deliver tax reform (45% vs. 25%).
He also thrashes Shorten as the people’s preferred PM, with 52% of voters vouching for his abilities compared with 21% for Shorten (in one small win, the Labor leader’s satisfaction rating is up one point to -24pts).
While the past two Newspolls have had the parties deadlocked at 50-50, this latest one sees the Coalition nudge ahead of Labor in two-party-preferred terms, with a 1% jump (51% vs. 49%).
Watch this space over the next couple of months.
Source: The Australian.
Photo: Getty / Stefan Postles.
