 "Australian elections: Albanese govt takes lead in latest opinion polls after a 9-month lull")
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese witnessed a major jump in regard to the support for his government as Australia heads to its general elections. The voting is scheduled to take place on May 3 and the recent poll suggest that the center-left Labor party’s chances of coming back to power is significant.
On Sunday, a Newspoll Survey was released by the Australian newspaper. The opinion poll found that the Albanese government had pulled ahead of the Liberal-National opposition by 51 per cent to 49 per cent. This is the government’s strongest performance in the past nine months. Albanese’s personal approval rating is improving as well.
In the last survey, conducted in mid-March, Newspoll found the Labour Party trailing the centre-right opposition by 49 per cent to 51 per cent. Similar results were also reflected in the polls conducted by Resolve, YouGov and Redbridge.
Why this election is crucial for Albanese?
On Friday, Albanese kicked off a five-week election campaign as he fights to become the first in more than two decades to win consecutive terms in office, a symptom of the country’s long-running political instability. Albanese currently has a slim majority of just a handful of seats.
His government has been performing poorly in polls for month, with Australians frustrated over a cost-of-living crisis sparked by sticky inflation and high interest rates. However, after the first easing by the Reserve Bank in February, the polls have begun to turn in Albanese’s favour.
In the budget released last week, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced surprise tax cuts for every voter, reducing the lowest tax bracket to 14 per cent by 2027. The coalition said that they would wind that back if they win power, and instead cut the fuel excise. On Sunday, Albanese pledged to ban price gouging by supermarkets if reelected at the May 3 vote.
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