printable version PDF version

Carbon Tax Gillard most popular (what!)
by addy Monday, May 28 2012, 11:28pm
national / social/political / commentary

Tell it to your grandmothers, PM's PR team

In what surely must be the most tortured political poll ever taken, Juliar Gillard has emerged as Australia's preferred leader -- who are you people trying to kid?

Abbott and Gillard

But take a look at the field -- two detestable leaders that wouldn't stand a chance against ANYONE with integrity and the PEOPLE'S best interests at heart. Two KNOWN corporate and banker lackeys vying for power. So it's really immaterial which one of these reviled corporate puppets is most popular -- it reminds one of that school kid dilemma question, "would you rather swim in a pool of shit or vomit?" How very apt in Australian politics today!


Take the following Telegraph report with a grain:

Julia Gillard now leads Tony Abbott as Australia's preferred leader
by Alison McMeekin

LABOR MPs need to show "courage and conviction'' in the lead-up to the 2013 election, according to Julia Gillard, who says they can win the campaign.

In a caucus meeting this morning the Prime Minister rallied her troops, while revealing the current period was "one of the hardest periods politically for the government''.

"Over the next 500 days we need to show courage and conviction,'' Ms Gillard told MPs during this morning's caucus meeting in parliament.

"And we can win the (2013) campaign.''

The PM told colleagues last week had been "a hard week in parliament''.

On Monday last week embattled MP Craig Thomson, who has been suspended from the Labor Party, delivered an emotional one-hour statement to the parliament defending himself against claims he misused almost $500,000 in members' funds on escort services, cash withdrawals and electioneering when he was head of the Health Services Union.

Ms Gillard told colleagues today that "it was clear'' that a union had "let people down''.

"It's also clear that as human beings people felt that there had been a difficult week looking at what had occurred in the parliament,'' Ms Gillard told MPs.

"There had been a vicious and personal attack (on Mr Thomson).

"With regards to the issues around Craig Thomson, everything that can be said has been said, either for or against.''

Ms Gillard said it was now time for parliament to move on to "what parliament should be discussing''.

The Australian revealed today Labor's primary vote has risen two points to 32 per cent - now five points higher than it was at the start of May - while the coalition's primary vote rose one point to 46 per cent.

In rare good news for the Prime Minister she now leads Mr Abbott as the country's preferred leader, while her personal rating with voters has improved and her dissatisfaction rating has also fallen - albeit to a still high 60 per cent.

The news wasn't as good for Mr Abbott, who suffered a drop in his satisfaction rating while dissatisfaction with the way he's doing his job jumped to 60 per cent - his highest figure ever recorded.

Even so the coalition is still comfortably ahead of Labor on a two-party preferred basis, 54 to 46 per cent.

Senior Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten said he believed the government's positive message "will always in the long run trump being negative'', while fellow frontbencher David Bradbury said the public had formed an adverse opinion "about how negative (Mr Abbott) bloke had become''.

However senior opposition frontbencher Scott Morrison laughed off a suggestion that Mr Abbott might be challenged as leader.

"The best days under Julia Gillard are still worse than the worst days under Kevin Rudd,'' he said this morning.

Veteran Labor senator Doug Cameron said the government's poll results were "still abysmal, but they're getting better''.

Australian Greens MP Adam Bandt said he was pleased that even after Bob Brown retired as leader “our vote is holding up”.

The Greens' primary vote remained steady at 12 per cent.

© 2012 News Limited

http://tinyurl.com/8xgtcab