Equally unpopular Gillard symptom of a bigger illness

Leaders net satisfaction ratings

JULIA Gillard and Tony Abbott are now level-pegging on net satisfaction ratings - at minus 21 - for the first time since the carbon tax backflip was announced at the beginning of the year.

That would ordinarily be a cause for celebration ahead of the summer break. A sign, perhaps, that public anger towards the Prime Minister is dissipating and 2012 could be a better year for the government.

But drawing level with one of the most unpopular opposition leaders in Newspoll history is hardly a public endorsement of Gillard's performance. And the collapse in Labor's two-party-preferred vote (from 47 per cent to just 43 per cent) is the more significant result from yesterday's Newspoll: a sure sign that Labor's problems go deeper than just the unpopularity of its leader.

The expectation was that, after strutting the international stage for the past fortnight, the government and the Prime Minister would receive a boost in the polls. An Obama-induced improvement as it were.

One out of two isn't good enough for Labor when speculation continues that Kevin Rudd covets Gillard's job and backbench MPs remain nervous about their seats.

Certainly Gillard has improved her personal ratings steadily over recent months, as the net satisfaction graph attests. And with various legislation passing through the parliament, the year of decision and delivery finally has some achievements to match the rhetoric. But a primary vote languishing in the low 30s and a significant differential in the two-party-preferred vote is a bad way to end the parliamentary year.

The Prime Minister must be grateful the manager of government business in the House of Representatives, Anthony Albanese, decided to cancel next week's final sitting week, making this week the last for the year. Another parliamentary week would have only increased speculation that Gillard would be challenged in the traditional killing season of federal politics.