The winds of change?
Is it too early to tell?
... But wouldn't it be wonderful?
(Hey, where are all you Oz A2Kers?? It's an election year!):
Rudd gains ground on Howard
Steve Lewis, Chief political correspondent
January 23, 2007/the Australian
KEVIN Rudd's campaign for The Lodge has been strongly backed by voters, with a big rise in his personal approval rating as Labor maintains an election-winning lead over the Coalition.
As John Howard prepares to freshen up his ministry, voters have also criticised the Government's handling of the war in Iraq, with more than 70 per cent saying it will influence their vote.
The Government's handling of terror suspect David Hicks has also been denounced by voters, according to a Newspoll conducted exclusively for The Australian.
At the start of a gruelling election year, the Opposition Leader has maintained an early popularity with voters. His satisfaction rating has jumped to 56per cent from the 41 per cent recorded soon after he deposed Kim Beazley as party leader in early December.
Mr Rudd's rating is double that recorded by Mr Beazley shortly before he was dumped. It puts the Opposition Leader at satisfaction levels not seen since the early months of Mark Latham's leadership in late 2003 and early 2004.
Mr Latham's popularity dropped - from a satisfaction rating of 66 per cent - after his ill-fated pledge to withdraw Australian troops from Iraq by Christmas 2004.
In another boost for the new leader, Mr Rudd has edged closer to Mr Howard as preferred prime minister - 39 per cent compared to Mr Howard's 41 per cent.
Labor would have easily won an election held last weekend, gaining 55 per cent of the two-party-preferred vote to the Coalition's 45 per cent. The party's primary vote dipped slightly, to 44per cent, while the Coalition's remains on 39 per cent.
With climate change emerging as an election issue, support for the Greens has returned to 7 per cent, close to the mark it recorded at the 2004 election. The poll comes as Mr Howard prepares to outline his election-year priorities in a speech to the National Press Club on Thursday.
Federal MPs are bracing for a hectic year, with Labor seeking to oust the Coalition after more than a decade in Opposition.
Labor MPs will take heart from the poll results, although senior party figures remain realistic about the challenge ahead.
The Prime Minister is expected to announce within days a limited reshuffle of his ministry, although senior figures were last night still unsure who would be dumped.
While Mr Rudd's approval rating is on the rise, Mr Howard's satisfaction remains static, with 46 per cent approving of his performance, compared with 43 per cent who are dissatisfied.
At the same time, the Government is under growing pressure to act on two sensitive issues: Iraq and Hicks's continued incarceration.
http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=2497423
Australia's continued support for the US strategy is deeply unpopular, with just 28 per cent of voters in favour of the Government's handling of the Iraq war.
Just over 60 per cent of voters are against the Government's handling of the war, including 44per cent who are "strongly against".
Of concern to the Coalition, 71per cent of voters say the Iraqi issue will be important in determining how they vote. This includes 31 per cent who say it will be "very important". Only 25 per cent of voters say it will not influence their vote.
But the continuing saga of Hicks's incarceration at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba is having less impact, although most voters - 56 per cent - are against the Government's handling of the Hicks case, although only 47 per cent rank it an important factor in how they will vote in an election.
According to Newspoll surveys, the importance of Iraq in the minds of voters ranks almost as highly as health and Medicare and education. While 71 per cent of voters say the Iraq war is an important consideration, 82 per cent rate health and Medicare important and 78 per cent cite education as important.
Coalition strategists are hoping that voters' concerns over Mr Rudd's inexperience will count at the ballot box. But they also expect him to be a more formidable opponent than Mr Latham.
The Prime Minister is expected to announce his ministerial reshuffle within days. He declined to speculate on changes to the ministry but senior Coalition figures expect them to be kept to a minimum.
There is strong momentum for high-profile Liberal MPs Malcolm Turnbull and Andrew Robb to be propelled into the ministry. Mr Turnbull, who Mr Howard considers one of the Government's stand-out performers, is likely to take over an expanded portfolio encompassing climate change and water policy.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21102080-601,00.html
