Australian PM urges calm over poll slump

Canberra, Feb 6: Australian Prime Minister John Howard today urged government lawmakers not to be spooked by slumping opinion polls at the start of an election year, saying history still favoured a conservative victory.

After 11 years in power and four election wins, Howard's government saw its support slipping to its lowest level in six years today as the centre-left Labor opposition recorded a sustained boost under new leader Kevin Rudd.

With an election due in the second half of 2007, Howard told a meeting of ruling lawmakers on Tuesday that the government could win another term by promoting strong economic management and its tough stand on national security.

''History is on our side in that there has been no change of government since World War Two without the loss of confidence in the government,'' a party spokesman quoted Howard, 67, as telling the closed meeting of government lawmakers.

''People think we run the economy well, and they broadly agree with us on national security,'' he said, adding that the youthful Rudd was still enjoying a ''honeymoon'' period with voters. The latest Newspoll found support for Labor continued to surge in February, giving the party its biggest lead since early 2001 on the back of Rudd's promises to bring Australian troops home from Iraq and sign the Kyoto protocol on climate change.

Newspoll, published in the Australian newspaper, found Labor held a 12-point lead with 56 percent support compared to 44 per cent for the government on a two-party basis, where minority votes are distributed to the main parties and ultimately decide the election.

The poll found Labor, which last won national government in 1993, also held a strong primary or first-count vote lead, with 47 percent support to 38 per cent for the government.

Howard's conservatives won a 27-seat majority at the last election in October 2004 with 44.1 percent of the primary vote and 52.7 per cent of the two-party preferred vote.

The poll also found Rudd, 49 and just two months in the job, trailing Howard by just one point, 39 to 40 per cent, as preferred prime minister, eroding Howard's long-term solid lead on the issue.

Rudd played down the significance of the polls today and said Labor had a lot of work to do ahead of the election.

''I know that there's a huge amount of work still to be done but we've got our sleeves rolled up,'' Rudd told Australian radio.

The next election is due in the second half of 2007 and Howard is widely expected to call it for October or November. Labor must win 16 more seats in parliament to win power.

Howard faced a similar slump in the polls in early 2001 but clawed back support to win the election that November, driven by his tough stand on illegal immigration and on national security in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

Reuters