Even a good parliamentary week can't lift PM's standing

Leaders satisfaction ratings Feb 2012

IN the first two Newspolls of this year, Julia Gillard's net satisfaction rating has crept backwards, contrasting with her slow but steady improvement late last year.

The Prime Minister's net satisfaction rating is sitting at -25. Tony Abbott no longer trails Gillard for net satisfaction, having lifted from -23 two weeks ago to -16 yesterday -- the highest in six months.

Labor would have hoped for a better showing after winning the first week of parliament and a favourable Fairfax-Nielsen poll last week.

However, Gillard's continuing slide in net satisfaction is the least of her problems this week.

When it rains, it pours.

On Monday morning, Labor MPs woke up to a Newspoll showing the government's standing as economic manager had slipped, despite the opposition's confused first week in parliament.

By Monday evening, they were forced to endure an ABC Four Corners program exposing the PM's poor judgment in agreeing to a long-form interview when she was not prepared to answer the questions. It was a terrible look.

Come yesterday morning, Newspoll's party and leader ratings revealed Labor's two-party vote had gone backwards and Gillard's preferred PM rating was behind the Opposition Leader's.

By the afternoon, the PM had to sit uncomfortably beside former Labor leader Simon Crean while he was at the dispatch box during question time. Trying to score a point against the Tasmanian division of the Liberal Party (over an issue no one cares to remember), Crean said: "I say when you enter an agreement, you've got to honour it."

Nice line, except it sounded like it was directed firmly at Gillard over the Andrew Wilkie poker machine deal or her pledge the day before the 2010 election not to introduce a carbon tax.