Anthony Albanese has faced another setback with a staggering number of Aussies believing the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to a new poll.
A Redbridge poll released on Wednesday showed nearly half of the 1,500 voters surveyed between November 13 and 20 shared the bleak sentiment.
More than 50 per cent believed the Albanese government did not have the right focus.
When asked if it had the right priorities, 25 per cent of Australians said they ‘strongly disagree’ and 27 per cent disagreed.
A mere six per cent of voters claimed to ‘strongly agree’ and about 30 per cent of people viewed the government’s priorities in a positive light.
Redbridge Director Tony Barry said it was a worrying sign for the prime minister ahead of the federal election that is due to be held by May 2025.
‘With 48 per cent of voters believing Australia is on the wrong track, and a majority thinking the Prime Minister is focused on the wrong priorities, there is a very strong mood-for-change sentiment in the electorate,’ he told the Daily Telegraph.
The poll revealed Labor was losing some of its traditional voter base as only one per cent of blue collar voters ‘strongly agreed’ the government had the right priorities compared to 21 per cent of professionals and managers.
Anthony Albanese has faced another setback with a staggering number of Aussies believing the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to a new poll
About 38 per cent of professionals and managers believed the government had the right focus – almost double their blue collar counterparts (20 per cent).
The dwindling support from blue collar Aussies is a massive blow for Mr Albanese who likes to present himself as having strong ties to the working class.
He continuously revisited stories from his childhood during his election campaign – recalling how he was raised by a single mother in commission housing.
The Prime Minister even labelled himself a ‘working class boy from public housing’.
‘Labor’s problem is that Albanese is a white-collar person’s idea of a blue-collar person and a perception among their base that his priorities are not aligned with theirs,’ Mr Barry said.
‘If they can’t reconnect with their base in coming months there’s a real danger that some Labor seats that aren’t normally in play might be on the table during the campaign.’
Some 57 per cent of Aussies surveyed claimed they felt worse off today than when Mr Albanese was elected two-and-a-half years ago.
The figure dwarfed the 31 per cent of voters who thought they were better off now than when Mr Albanese was elected.
The poll also recorded a shift in the public perception of whether Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was ready for office.
For the first time, the number of voters who believe Mr Dutton was ready to lead the country had outweighed those who thought he was not.
In November last year, the difference between participants who thought Mr Dutton was ready was at 20 points – in his disfavour.
This drastically shrunk to nine per cent in April and further decreased to six per cent in July, this year.
‘There is a growing cohort of Dutton-curious voters who are more prepared to accept the proposition that the Coalition are ready for government,’ Mr Barry said.
‘In the last seven months on the ready for government measurement, the Coalition has moved from net -9 to net +1, representing a 10-point movement which in political tracks is a very significant movement.’
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