Prime Minister Scott Morrison confronted with uncomfortable Anthony Albanese trend

The prime minister evaded a sensitive question on several occasions when being pressed by reporters on Monday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has repeatedly evaded an uncomfortable question over why voters are appearing to “choose” Anthony Albanese over him.

This week’s Newspoll shows Labor has a 54-46 lead over the Liberal Party.

An Ipsos poll conducted for the Australian Financial Review gave Labor a 57-43 lead.

Both polls also showed Mr Morrison’s approval rating had dropped.

At Monday’s press conference, Mr Morrison was asked why he thought the polls were swinging towards his opponent with just two weeks left of the election campaign.

“Well there is two weeks to go and a choice is going to be made …” Mr Morrison began before the reporter interjected.

“Why do you think voters are marking you down?” the reporter asked.

The Prime Minister ignored the question, continuing on with the line that this election is a choice.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison was probed over why his opponent had come out stronger in the polls. Picture: Jason Edwards

He then claimed that if the election campaign was a job interview then Mr Albanese wouldn’t even get a second interview, despite polls showing voters are leaning towards a Labor government.

“If you’re having a job interview and you ask them ‘there’s something you really need to know about the economy if you want to run it. What’s the unemployment rate and what’s the cash rate?’ He didn’t know,” Mr Morrison said.

The Prime Minister then went on to criticise Mr Albanese’s aged care and health care policies. “Now that doesn’t sound like a person who deserves a second interview, let alone the job,” the PM said.

Mr Morrison continued in this same vein before another reporter cut in and, once again, attempted to get him to answer the question directly.

“(The) question was about you Prime Minster, with all respect,” the reporter said.

“It’s a choice between Anthony Albanese and his inability to manage money and a weakness or strength that we have demonstrated on economic policy, on national security policy that has kept Australians safe.”

A reporter then pointed out that it appeared voters were “choosing” Mr Albanese.

“But they are choosing him. Why are they choosing him?” she asked.

Once again, Mr Morrison ignored the question and kept speaking.

Mr Morrison repeatedly dodged questions of why voters were appearing to “choose” Anthony Albanese over him. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

He noted the Liberal Government had kept the economy strong in “some of the most difficult times we have ever had to manage”, before ending the press conference and walking off.

Mr Morrison faced hefty scrutiny following Sunday evening’s leaders’ debate, which was widely regarded a “trainwreck” after both he and Anthony Albanese continually spoke over each other, the host Sarah Abo, and the panellists.

With early voting open from Monday morning, the two men are expected to spend the final 13 days zigzagging across the country attacking the other, with no major policy announcements to come.

If the latest Newspoll is to be believed, however, Labor is in prime position, with the two party preferred vote now sitting in their favour at 54/46 – two points better than they were a week ago.

Popular support for Labor has also lifted a point to 39 per cent, with the Coalition falling a point to 35 per cent. This is the largest margin Labor has held over the incumbents since the start of the campaign.

This week’s Newspoll shows Labor has a 54-46 lead over the Liberal Party. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

If the figures were to be repeated come May 21, Labor would gain a considerable majority victory and would leave the Coalition in its wake.

The pair will square off again in a third leaders’ debate on Wednesday, May 11.

The event will be aired by Channel 7 and hosted by the network’s political editor Mark Riley. With Channel 7’s broadcast just 10 days before the election, it is unlikely there will be another opportunity for the leaders to go head to head.

The first debate attracted more than 415,000 viewers across Sky News’ subscription and online services, with the viewer count expected to rise in the upcoming two debates on free-to-air TV.

Requests by the ABC to host a debate between the leaders have not yet been granted, despite the public broadcaster putting the call out to both parties.