Coalition (Howard) grabs lead: poll - Australia

[anakie]

"THE Coalition has overtaken Labor to grab an election-winning position in the final week of the federal election campaign, according to the latest Newspoll.

The Newspoll, to be published in The Australian newspaper tomorrow and revealed tonight on Sky News, showed the Coalition had jumped 2.5 percentage points to 50.5 per cent on a two-party preferred basis"

......

"Prime Minister John Howard also widened his lead as preferred prime minister.

Mr Howard was the preferred leader by 49 per cent of respondents, up one percentage point, while Mr Latham slipped to 32 per cent, down three percentage points"

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10973584%255E1702,00.html


The election is next week and there is no clear leader but it is looking like Howard may actually win next Saturday.

[nine30]

1. Not a good sign

If Howard wins, the Bush admin is immediately going to tout it as a success of the "coalition". Not the Coalition party headed by Howard, but the 'coalition' of the willing fighting in Iraq. He will say people are strongly behind the "War against Terror", but I doubt it will persuade many voters here in the US.

[sweetheart]

2. Murdoch and his international misinformation corporation

are just all too obvious anymore. All his newspapers push polls
that suggest his politicians will win. Just like everything else
murdoch pushes.. lies and deception.

Mark Latham, win this one! We're counting on you.

Is it possible for you to fly to the USA and to get a television
spot with John Kerry and Mr. Edwards? It may be worth the long
flights to cement a victory.

[JCMach1]

3. SKYnews is a murdoch mouthpiece

Labor may lose, but it's there own darn fault...

[Matilda]

4. The Greens have been gaining steady support, and that's a good sign.

In the Senate, they're polling at 12% at the moment, which is
excellent, and they look as if they could pick up at least two
more seats.

In the lower house, they're unlikely to get in, but their preferences
could be crucial to Labor in a tight situation, which all the
pundits are expecting. If they don't pick up enough votes to win
the seats they contest (and it's unliley that they would win,
except perhaps they may retain Corrimal, which is their only lower
house seat), their votes are then more likely to go to Labor than
the Liberals, and they may put Labor over the line.

That could perhaps explain why Latham today announced that Labor
will "mostly" ban old-growth logging in Tasmania's forests, a move
that is likely to win friends amongst Green voters (of which I am
one). There is no way that Howard will do anything similar, in
fact tomorrow the Libs are beginning a series of TV commercials
warning voters of "the unholy alliance" between Labor and the
Greens http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2004/s1212474.htm

It's going to be very, very close however it goes, but I for one
would be delighted with a narrow Labor victory, with the Greens
holding the balance of power in the Senate, and it could happen.