Bombshell new poll sees voters desert the former Coalition as Sussan Ley’s leadership teeters on a knife edge – while One Nation founder Pauline Hanson scores a surprise victory
Pauline Hanson is Australia’s favourite party-leading politician, a new poll shows.
While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and warring Coalition leaders Sussan Ley and David Littleproud continue to fall from favour, One Nation founder Hanson has swooped in and claimed the top spot.
The new poll by Redbridge for the Australian Financial Review found support for One Nation had risen to 26 per cent while combined support for the Liberals and Nationals fell from 26 per cent in December to 19 per cent.
The drop in popularity likely stems from ongoing Coalition infighting, with Liberal Party leader Ley recently warning Littleproud that if the Nationals didn’t rejoin the alliance by February 9, the separation would be permanent.
‘The problem for the Liberal and National parties is we still don’t know where the bottom is for their vote and where One Nation’s ceiling is,’ Redbridge poll director Tony Barry said.
‘What we don’t know yet is how much of One Nation’s vote is protest or power.
‘But if the Liberal and National parties keep accumulating scar tissue and don’t change the story arc, it might be unsalvageable.’
Barnaby Joyce, who left the Nationals to join One Nation in December, said he was thrilled to see Hanson’s party’s success.
Pauline Hanson (pictured) has been named Australia’s favourite politician
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured) suffered an 11-point favourability loss, resulting in a net rating of -10
‘It’s an incredible honour,’ he told the Sunday Telegraph about One Nation’s surge of support among voters.
He also seemed glad to see the Nationals fall out of favour, despite his 30-year stint with the party.
‘One of the big problems that I have with the conceit of the Liberals and the Nationals is they say ”you’re just a protest party, you’re not a party of government”,’ he said of the Coalition’s attitude toward One Nation.
‘You go, ”Hang on, neither will you be if they don’t vote for you”. Right now, the National Party is not a party of government.
‘The National Party is at 2.5 per cent or 4 per cent of the vote? We’re a vastly bigger party.’
Labor’s popularity rating remained similar to the last poll, with 34 per cent of participants supporting the party, while the Greens fell 2 points to 11 per cent.
Only nine per cent of voters backed Ley as the preferred prime minister, a drop of three points, compared to 37 per cent for Albanese, a four-point drop.
Ley’s personal net rating was in even worse condition, having fallen 12 points since the last poll to -32.
Liberal Party leader Sussan Ley (pictured) and Nationals leader David Littleproud both suffered a drop in popularity, likely due to ongoing Coalition infighting
However, the Liberal leader may be able to score some political points this week, with the Reserve Bank of Australia likely to raise interest rates as soon as Tuesday.
A few biting words over Australia’s ongoing struggle with inflation and overall economic condition might also be enough to push back questions over her leadership in the party.
Albanese suffered a similar loss in the Redbridge poll of 11 favourability points to land at a net -10 rating.
Hanson’s personal rating, however, made strides since the last poll, jumping from -19 in December to -3.
Littleproud, who is set to face a leadership challenge from Queensland MP Colin Boyce on Monday, sat at a net favourability rating of -14.
Redbridge surveyed 1,003 voters between January 22 and January 29.
