Papers back Julia Gillard, voters want Tony Abbott (Australian election - one week to go)

news.com.au ^ | 15th August 2010

[naturalman1975]

AUSTRALIA'S Sunday newspapers have backed Julia Gillard to win the election, saying Labor deserves a second term.

But voters don't seem to agree, with the latest opinion poll suggesting Tony Abbott will win the 17 seats he needs for an election victory.

Although most of the sundays criticised Labor for its poor performance at state and federal level, they were willing to give Ms Gillard an opportunity to show what she could achieve as Prime Minister.

Suprisingly, the paper that has hit Labor the hardest, The Sunday Telegraph, praised Ms Gillard as someone who could make the "big calls" and would not be "cowed by the news polls".

Queensland has been urged to give Tony Abbott a chance, with the Sunday Mail saying the Government has squandered its goodwill and confidence.

However, a Galaxy Poll of 4000 voters in 20 marginal seats in five states has Mr Abbott's Coalition in front of Labor, 51.4 per cent to 48.6 per cent.

The survey comes only a day after polls by Nielsen and Newspoll suggested Ms Gillard was within a whisker of winning power.

The Galaxy Poll, published in today's News Limited papers, predicts devastation for Labor in Queensland, where a potential swing of 5.4 per cent against the Government could cost it 10 seats.

In NSW, polling in Eden-Monaro, Gilmore, Macarthur and Macquarie found a swing of 2.4 per cent against the Government, while the coalition was likely to win all the seats polled, plus three others if the swing was statewide.

The Coalition is also in front in Swan and Hasluck in Western Australia, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

.....

But the average swing across the five mainland states is 1.7 per cent to the Coalition.

[jeltz25]

In pretty much every election since Obama the right has won.

The UK went from Brown to Cameron. Israel went from Olmert to Netanyahu. In Germany Merkel was reelected but with an increased majority. In Chile the right-wing candidate Pineda won. In Costa Rica the right wing candidate Chinchilla won. Now it looks like Australia may go back to the right. Even in the US the GOP has won all 3 statewide elections since Obama, all of them in states that Obama won rather easily. Hopefully the trend continues here in the US in the fall and in 2012.

[La Lydia]

I guess we’ll see who gets the last word.

[JPG]

Good! Especially since Tony Abbott is on record as saying that man made global warming was a bunch of crap. The AGW schemes certainly marked the end of Kevin Rudd as PM.

[BCEagles]

I saw a Nielsen (I think that’s what it was) poll yesterday putting Labor back up 53-47, and this contradicts it. What do you think is the most likely outcome?

[naturalman1975]

I honestly don’t know.

If Labor holds on, it will because the electorate have decided to give Julia Gillard a chance - she’s only been Prime Minister for less than two months and some people will hesitate to throw her out before she’s had a chance. I’m a dyed in the wool conservative and I certainly won’t vote for her party - but even I feel a bit that way about it, to be honest. I believe a Prime Minister should have a chance to show us what they can do.

That may wind up being a major factor here.

[Dundee]

Sadly I think Labor will win and worse yet, the Greens will have the balance of power in the senate (and worse yet, perhaps in the House of Reps as well).

Living in Canberra, I can tell you that having a Labor/Greens government is utter misery.

[Oztrich Boy]

In NSW, polling in Eden-Monaro, Gilmore, Macarthur and Macquarie found a swing of 2.4 per cent against the Government, while the coalition was likely to win all the seats polled, plus three others if the swing was statewide

You had me at Eden-Monaro