Australian PM reclaims poll lead as rivals squabble

CANBERRA, Mar 14 (Reuters) Australian Prime Minister John Howard capped celebrations of his decade in power by reclaiming the lead in the opinion polls today, as internal rows hurt the opposition Labor Party.

Support for Howard's conservative government rose by four percentage points in early March to 53 percent, Newspoll said, as the media gave blanket coverage to the 10th anniversary of Howard's first election victory in March 1996.

Newspoll said support for the centre-left Labor opposition fell four points to 47 percent, below its losing vote at the last national elections in October 2004, as the party debates whether leader Kim Beazley can lead them back to power.

''Labor has re-entered the fatal zone and Kim Beazley is starting to look like a dead parrot,'' the Australian newspaper said, blaming weeks of Labor infighting for the poll result.

Labor had maintained a narrow two-point lead over the government for the previous two months. The next election is due in late 2007.

Labor is embroiled in bitter internal fights over pre-selection for prime parliamentary seats, with former leader Simon Crean demanding Beazley show more leadership by intervening to protect senior party members.

Crean and Beazley held talks in Sydney late on Monday in an effort to resolve the row, with Beazley publicly warning that Labor would lose the next election if the bickering continued.

The Australian newspaper said the infighting was reflected in the poll for preferred prime minister. Howard, who regularly polls in the mid 50s, shot further ahead to 61 percent, compared to a record low 18 percent for Beazley.

Reuters SK VP0650