Australia’s first woman prime minister has boosted the government’s once—lagging popularity to an election—winning lead over the opposition, according to a respected opinion poll published on Monday.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s early public support since she ousted her predecessor Kevin Rudd in a shock leadership challenge last Thursday could tempt her to call an election soon.The survey by Newspoll, a Sydney—based market research company part—owned by News Corp., found that the center—left Labour Party government’s public support had bounced back to the levels it had enjoyed before Mr. Rudd’s popularity crashed in April.
Mr. Rudd, elected in 2007, had been one of the most popular Australian prime ministers of modern times until he made a series of policy backflips that included shelving a key promise to make major polluters pay for the carbon gas that they emit.
Many voters then abandoned Labour for the left—wing minor opposition Australian Greens party, earlier Newspolls indicated.
But with Ms. Gillard at the helm, Labour support had climbed seven percentage points to 42 percent since the previous Newspoll was conducted June 18—20. Greens support had slipped from 15 to 10 percent while the main opposition coalition remained steady at 40 percent.
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