Julia Gillard ‘facing landslide loss’ to popular Abbott-led coalition in new poll

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Sydney, Mar 18: Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is facing a landslide loss, with the Labour Party losing ground to a more popular Tony Abbott among voters, a new poll has found.

The latest Nielsen poll offered little hope for Gillard and her government, with Labor’s primary vote at 31 percent.

The Tony Abbott-led coalition remained steady at 47 percent, less than six months out from the September 14 election.

According to news.com.au, the telephone survey of 1400 people taken last week shows Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is now preferred prime minister by 49 percent of voters against Gillard’s 43 percent – down by two points.

Voters also prefer a Kevin Rudd-led Labor Party by two to one, with 62 percent opting for Rudd against Gillard’s 31 percent.

The two-party preferred split led the government to have a 44 percent support from people as compared to 56 percent support the opposition had, a six percent swing to the coalition from the 50-50 result in 2010 and a landslide victory if carried through to Election Day.

But Gillard has dismissed any prospect of being ‘tapped on the shoulder” by senior ministers, saying it was much speculated on but ‘just won’t happen’, the report added. (ANI)