Kevin Rudd has a two-to-one lead as preferred Labor leader over Julia Gillard (2 Viewers)

[iRuler]

Kevin Rudd has a two-to-one lead as preferred Labor leader over Prime Minister Julia Gillard, according to a new poll.

The latest Fairfax-Nielsen poll shows the coalition leading Labor by 59 to 41 per cent on a two-party preferred basis, worse than polling when Mr Rudd was overthrown as leader a year ago.

The poll, published in Fairfax newspapers on Saturday, also had Opposition Leader Tony Abbott tying with Ms Gillard for the first time as preferred prime minister, with both on 46 per cent.

Ms Gillard's approval rating has dropped by six percentage points to 37 per cent, her lowest level since becoming prime minister.

The poll, taken ahead of Ms Gillard's first anniversary as prime minister, has 60 per cent of voters backing Mr Rudd as preferred Labor leader over 31 per cent for Ms Gillard.

Mr Rudd has fuelled leadership speculation only days out from the anniversary of his dumping as prime minister, but insists Ms Gillard will take Labor to the next election.

In one of a series of interviews ahead of the anniversary, Ms Gillard indicated it was Mr Rudd's political paralysis, rather than poor opinion polls, that led to her toppling him as leader.

"We had lost a sense of purpose and plan for the future," she told News Ltd.

"We didn't have a clear plan as to how we were going to deal with a set of difficult questions or a clear plan generally about where the government was driving towards.

"What I've done as prime minister is inject that sense of clarity of purpose."

In another interview conducted ahead of the latest opinion poll, Ms Gillard said she had expected it would be a hugely difficult period.

"We are in a phase where we've outlined principles (on carbon pricing) to the Australian people," she told Fairfax.

"We've been very, very frank with them about the impacts of carbon pricing on them ... and we're not at the stage yet where we can fully explain to people the assistance that comes with it."

Ms Gillard has alsowarned that business, industry and stakeholders will turn on Mr Abbott once the carbon tax is law and demand he abandon his pledge for its repeal.

"I would be astounded if stakeholders support (Mr Abbott's) repeal," she told The Australian.

"Whatever view stakeholders have expressed in the run-up, the loss of certainty and the mechanics of trying to unwind a reform as big as this means they will say to Tony Abbott, `Don't do this, don't repeal it'."

A photograph published by News Ltd on Friday showed icy body language between Mr Rudd and Ms Gillard after a meeting over her handling of the live cattle export issue and relations with Indonesia, but Mr Rudd laughed it off.

A Labor source said that during the parliamentary sitting week - in which Ms Gillard faced a fifth successive bad Newspoll - Rudd loyalists had counted numbers on the leadership, but had come up with 10, plus two MPs "waiting in the lounge room to see what happens".

http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/latest/9663484/rudd-leads-gillard-as-preferred-alp-leader/

Thoughts?

 

[SylviaB]

lol

 

[cosmo kramer]

thats what we get for going for the WE WANT A WOMAN LEADER route

 

[iRuler]

thats what we get for going for the WE WANT A WOMAN LEADER route

this is the truth

 

[Blastus]

why is a woman leading a country

 

[Blastus]

women only lead socialist countries

and germany

 

[Existential]

its obvious that the inherent sexism is playing a role in these polls

 

[Lentern]

women only lead socialist countries

and germany

Thatcher and Meir not count as women then? I suppose that's fair enough really.

 

[cosmo kramer]

thatcher is a battle ax bitch basically a guy

 

[abbeyroad]

yes and she wasn't a true scot either

 

[Blastus]

Thatcher and Meir not count as women then? I suppose that's fair enough really.

Thatcher counts as a glory above glories. We don't speak about Meir.

 

[cosmo kramer]

i dont like thatcher

i want to like thatcher but i can't like thatcher

enoch for prime minister

 

[iRuler]

Gillard needs to go tho, srsly

 

[Garygaz]

the extreme subtleties of rudd's tactics to undermine labour's public image is truly remarkable. this guy is a fucking genius. he is effectively making himself look like the mature, reflective, wise guy in all of these interviews he's giving, and without directly saying it, making the people who forced him out of power as faceless asses.

 

[Blastus]

Rudd is good at play game but what is happen where is captain Rudd

 

[cosmo kramer]

rofl don't give that retard so much credit rudd isn't clever enough to orchestrate anything like that

 

[Deathless]

Whenever I see her face I'm reminded of "why so serious".

 

[SylviaB]

ugh I wish the bilderberg scum would make up their minds already

 

[Lentern]

ugh I wish the bilderberg scum would make up their minds already

They have trust me, Gillard will contest the next election unless she resigns of her own accord. There are actually small mumblings in the twitter sphere that after Rudd's failed little whip count this week he's preparing to pull the plug on the whole affair and retire.

 

[Funky Monk]

poor ol' Helen Clark not even a mention