Australia's opposition still leading in opinion polls, but gap narrowing
19/10/2007 15:45
The Australian Labor Party (ALP) is till taking an election winning lead
although its lead over the ruling coalition narrowed in latest opinion polls
released today.
The opinion polls are the first ones conducted after the six-
week election campaign kicked off last Sunday when Prime Minister John Howard
announced the federal election will be held on Nov. 24.
The ruling
coalition's improvement of support in the opinion polls came after it announced
on Monday a major tax cut plan worth 34 billion Australian dollars (US$30.8
billion), the Australia's biggest in history.
It's the first big pledge by
the ruling coalition after the beginning of the election campaign.
The Galaxy
poll in newspapers of the News Limited shows the ruling coalition at 43 percent
and Labor at 45 on primary vote.
After preferences, Labor's lead has narrowed
by two to six percent.
Meanwhile, the AC Neilsen poll in Fairfax newspapers
shows the gap closing dramatically on the preferred prime minister, with Labor
leader Kevin Rudd at 47 percent and Howard at 43, compared with Rudd's 52
percent and Howard's 39 percent in the last poll published 12 days
ago.
Rudd's personal approval rating fell 5 points to a still lofty 60
percent, while Howard's rose 2 points to 52 percent.
Xinhua
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