Buyers' remorse: Plummeting popularity for Australian (Conservative) PM

[pampango]

Tony Abbott's party loses the lead that won him the election as immigration and climate change remain top issues

Australia's new conservative Prime Minister Tony Abbott has lost the lead which swept him to power in September, with voters unconvinced by his response on asylum-seekers and climate issues.

The first Nielsen poll since the September 7 election, published in Fairfax newspapers on Monday, puts the opposition Labor Party ahead of Abbott's Liberal/National coalition by 52 percent to 48 percent.

Abbott romped to victory at the election with 53.5 percent of the vote, but his government has since been criticised over its handling of asylum-seekers arriving by boat while its plans to tackle climate change lack broad support.

The poll revealed that only 42 percent of those questioned approved of the way the government was handling the introduction of its hardline policy on asylum-seekers, which involves turning back the boats and limiting the information given to the public. While most voters support Abbott's decision to scrap a carbon tax on industrial polluters, only 12 percent backed its proposed replacement.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/11/plummeting-popularity-australian-pm-2013112524757727213.html

Tough on immigration and lax on the environment - sound like typical conservative policies. Looks like Australians are seeing through those promises very quickly.

[Gman]

1. Friends in Oz all say they don't know anyone that voted for him

And no one else does either. They say Abbot won by default, for lack of a better candidate.