Four notable issues may have been feeding into the political debate over the past three weeks, but only one continues to dominate in the minds of most.
While Facebook’s intemperate ban on Australia and the alleged rape scandal at Parliament House have topped headlines, the health and economic impacts of the pandemic remain the main political consideration.
Despite the temptation to retreat amid a crisis, Scott Morrison has remained focused on the government’s political agenda.
Until now voters have been judging Morrison against a single benchmark: pandemic management. All other issues have been streets behind.
There is no reason to suggest this may have changed or is likely to until everyone is vaccinated and lives begin to return to normal.
And Morrison continues to be strongly supported for his government’s handling of the crisis, just as the premiers do at the provincial level.
For that reason, it shouldn’t be surprising that the latest Newspoll reflects just that.
The government’s admitted poor handling of the alleged rape has not been reflected in the polls. Morrison has been forced to apologise and has commissioned several reviews.
While the reasons may be contested, Morrison’s personal numbers have strengthened, the head-to-head contest against his rival has widened and the Coalition’s primary vote remains unchanged and ahead of its 2019 election result.
This will have come as more than a relief for Morrison who may have been expecting a backlash and a reliving of the nightmares he faced in the early days of his leadership when he was mired in seemingly perpetual political disasters.
For Anthony Albanese the poll is a tale of two cities. Although there is little question that the government would be returned if an election were held within the next six months, a primary vote of 37 per cent would suggest Labor is not yet out of the hunt long-term.
But the Opposition Leader’s flagging personal numbers will only feed into the narrative of his internal rivals that a different leader could strengthen Labor’s position further.
The negative territory he now finds himself in may now be a reflection of a growing malaise among Labor voters, fuelled by the deliberate destabilisation campaign of some of his colleagues.
Rusted-on supporters look for different things in an opposition leader than swinging voters.
The low satisfaction ratings for Albanese may now signal a deepening frustration over his effectiveness as an opposition leader whose chief task is to take the government on and inflict as much damage as he can.
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