Rudd could lose looming election

AUSTRALIA: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd could lose elections later this year after a dramatic fall in support, two new opinion polls found on Monday, putting pressure on the government to reach a deal on its new mining tax.

Support for the ruling Labor government dropped three points in a month to 47 percent on a two-party basis, a Nielsen poll in Fairfax newspapers found, showing Rudd was losing votes as he pushes for a controversial 40 percent tax on mining profits.

Tony Abbott’s conservative opposition was on a election winning 53 percent, the poll found, although the Greens were big winners in the drop in primary support for the government, up two points in the month to 15 percent.

“The mining tax is bleeding Labor nationally, not just in affected areas,” Age newspaper political editor Michelle Grattan wrote. “The results emphasise the government’s need to sort out its final position soon, but Rudd has been in no hurry.”

Voters also appeared to back the opposition’s hardline stance on asylum seekers, while there was also dissatisfaction with the government’s scrapping of a carbon emissions scheme.

Canberra, Monday, Reuters