PM Scott Morrison faces electoral wipe-out with support plunging, according to Newspoll

Scott Morrison is fighting for his political life – but a colleague says he’s still the “best person” for the job, despite “hard personal attacks”.

Scott Morrison has been subjected to “personal attacks” but is still the best man to lead the Liberal Party to the next election, according to senior colleagues.

Treasurer Josh Frydenbeg, regarded as the man most likely to lead the party when and if the Prime Minister leaves the job, has swung to his defence in the wake of the worst Newspoll since the 2018 leadership change.

“Is Scott Morrison the best person to lead the Coalition to the election?’’ ABC host Michael Rowlands asked this morning.

“Yes, he is. He will be the first Prime Minister since John Howard to serve a full term and to go to an election,’’ Mr Frydenberg replied.

In the wake of a week of controversy over his frosty meeting with former Australian of the Year Grace Tame, the Treasurer said the Prime Minister was still standing.

“And Australians know that he’s working hard every day to deliver the best health and economic outcomes. Now, of course, he’s been subject to some pretty hard personal attacks and obviously that’s taken its toll, but I know he is very resilient,’’ Mr Frydenberg said.

“And I know he’s also very focused on working hard for the Australian people.”

Host Michael Rowland then responded: “I asked that question, the Liberal Party has a pretty brutal history about dispatching leaders who aren’t working for them, so his job is safe, is what you’re saying?

“Yes, I am,’’ the Treasurer replied.

It comes as Newspoll revealed that Scott Morrison’s government was fighting for its political life, with popular support plunging to the lowest levels since the 2018 leadership change.

After a horror summer marked by rising Omicron cases, hundreds of deaths and fury over a shortage of rapid antigen tests, voters have turned on the government, with a sharp drop in support.

In the first Newspoll of 2022, support for the Prime Minister has been smashed, with the combined Liberal-Nationals primary vote falling two points to 34 per cent.

On a two-party-preferred basis, Newspoll delivers Labor a winning margin of 56-44 – the largest margin for the opposition seen since the leadership change in September 2018.

Labor would wipe out the Morrison Government’s majority if those results are replicated at the election with the potential loss of up to 25 seats and a landslide victory.

This is the worst Newspoll result for the Liberal Party since September 2018 and is worse than previous plunges in support after revelations of the Prime Minister’s secret Hawaii holiday during the 2019 bushfires, Brittany Higgins allegations in 2021 and anger over the vaccine rollout.

Stream your news live & on demand with Flash for $8/month and no lock in contracts. New to Flash? Try 14 days free now >

Photos of 2021 Australian of the Year Grace Tame and the Prime Minister went viral last week, with Ms Tame’s displeasure on clear display. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

The Prime Minister is expected to hold an election in May. While March remains an option, today’s Newspoll is unlikely to prompt the PM to go to the polls anytime soon.

According to Newspoll, Labor’s primary vote lifted three points to 41 per cent, its highest result since 2018.

For the first time, the Coalition is also behind Labor on the question of which party is deemed better at leading Australia’s recovery out of Covid-19.

The Greens secured 11 per cent of primary votes while Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party remained largely unchanged on 3 per cent.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison with 4-year-old Lilly the koala at Australia Zoo over the weekend. Picture: Annette Dew

Labor leader Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that small businesses were suffering from a “void of national leadership” over Omicron.

“It says it all about the treasurer and how out of touch he is, the fact that he doesn’t seem to understand how tough small business is doing it at the moment,” Mr Albanese said.

“What you’ve had from this government is a ‘let it rip’ approach when it comes to the market delivering and the market hasn’t delivered.”

His comments followed complaints by the NSW Liberal treasurer, Matt Kean, who said he was “very disappointed” that the federal government had declined to offer more support for small business.

“In their absence we’re having to step up to the plate and do our bit to preserve those businesses and help our national economy,” Kean told the Nine Network.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the Morrison Government could still win the next election despite the Newspoll result.

“In politics, there is only one poll that counts. And that is on Election Day,” he said.

“Many people predicated, falsely and wrongly, that the Coalition was going to lose the last election. And they were proven to be wrong.

“Ultimately, the Australian people will decide, when the election is called.”

Mr Frydenberg said he could empathise with those doing it tough due to the Covid pandemic, and that the federal government was working hard to support them.

“I have been frustrated by the fact that Omicron and Covid has gone on for some time now. And that’s why we continue to roll out the economic support.

“So we understand the challenges people face and that’s why we are

working every day.”

Australians should have access to rapid tests through Medicare. pic.twitter.com/15UUF4zptA

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) January 30, 2022

Labor leader Anthony Albanese is also closing the gap on Mr Morrison as preferred prime minister, with just two points now separating them.

Traditionally, an opposition leader rarely beats the incumbent Prime Minister on this question but a changeover is sometimes seen on the eve of an election where the government changes hands.

The Prime Minister’s net satisfaction ratings have fallen 11 points to minus 19, his worst ranking since February 2020 revelations of his secret Hawaii holiday while the nation burned.

The Newspoll survey, commissioned by The Australian newspaper, was conducted on January 25-28, with 1526 voters throughout Australia interviewed online.

Originally published as PM Scott Morrison faces electoral wipe-out with support plunging, according to Newspoll