Failing the pub test and deteriorating fast

BILL Shorten is failing the pub test. The Opposition Leader is shrinking in voters’ eyes at an alarming rate.

After a meteoric rise in voter satisfaction and a rapid pegging back of Tony Abbott as preferred prime minister in October and November, he has seen his personal support being rapidly lost and he’s no longer virtually equal on the question of better prime minister.

Gifted a natural Labor platform of thousands of job losses in manufacturing and the prospect of a hard-line Coalition budget, he and Labor are losing ground. The ALP’s rhetoric is wearing thin.

After almost six months at Labor’s helm, satisfaction with Shorten is on 33 per cent, virtually back to where it was when he began, after he defeated Anthony Albanese as Labor leader with a better parliamentary caucus vote.

More disastrously, dissatisfaction has jumped 19 points since October to reach 43 per cent last weekend and there has been no sign of a change in the trend.

After Shorten closed in on the “unpopular” and “unelectable” Abbott as preferred prime minister to get within a point — 37 to 38 per cent two weeks ago — Abbott again has a significant lead of 42 to 36 per cent.

What’s more, the trend of deterioration in Shorten’s support is accelerating alarmingly for Labor.

Since parliament began this year, Abbott’s downward satisfaction spiral has steadied, and rose again last weekend for the first time since October, but dissatisfaction with Shorten is rising sharply.

Most importantly, while Labor’s primary vote of 35 per cent remains ahead of its disastrous September election result of 33.3 per cent, it is only marginally so, with large numbers of voters apparently “parked” amongst supporters of the Greens and others.

Source:  The Australian - 11 March 2014