Fed: Easter offers leaders chance for renewal and redemption

AAP General News (Australia)
04-09-2009
Fed: Easter offers leaders chance for renewal and redemption

By Sandra O'Malley

CANBERRA, April 9 AAP - As a time of renewal and redemption, both sides of politics
may be able to take something away from the Easter season.

Kevin "I'm not perfect" Rudd is riding high in the opinion polls and nothing, it seems,
can dent his popularity with the public.

On the other hand, no matter what he does, Malcolm Turnbull can't seem to win over the voters.

If you believe the latest Newspoll, which has Rudd's popularity heading skyward, the
electorate didn't blink at revelations he made a RAAF flight attendant cry on a recent
overseas trip.

The prime minister will have a chance to make amends for his bully-boy behaviour this
weekend when he joins RAAF staff for a flight to Thailand for the East Asia Summit.

The gathering won't be quite as glamorous as his recent outings in London and Washington
but will give the prime minister another chance to spruik his credentials on the world
stage.

Rubbing shoulders with world leaders, including man of the moment US President Barack
Obama, obviously hasn't done Rudd any harm.

But it's the growing realisation the Australian leadership seems to have a better handle
on dealing with the global economic turmoil that is keeping the voters satisfied, for
the moment at least.

Aside from the opposition, most commentators have given the government a thumbs up
for its handling of the economic crisis, agreeing the situation would be worse if nothing
had been done to stimulate the economy.

And the public will welcome the bonus payments of up to $900 that will be arriving
in the mail over the next few weeks.

Of course, the economy will continue to play out over the coming months and years,
and with uncertainty the only constant, no one knows when the tide of public opinion might
turn.

The big issue is jobs and already the government has had to contend with an unemployment
rate growing faster than initially expected.

In March unemployment jumped to 5.7 per cent, the highest level in more than five years
and fast catching up to the predicted seven per cent jobless rate the government was tipping
for mid next year.

And the government hasn't been helped by a banking sector refusing to pass on the full
complement of official interest rate cuts, blunting the impact monetary policy can have
in keeping the economy afloat.

Still the positives for Rudd, by and large, outweigh the negatives.

If successful, the government's bold $43 billion plan to equip the nation with high-speed
broadband will ensure Rudd's place in the history books.

Such grand ideas have been the undoing of other leaders but, assuming it gets through
the parliament, Rudd has the luxury of at least a few years before he will be held to
account on his project.

Malcolm Turnbull, though, could see the potential problems from the broadband policy
a little earlier.

Even if the coalition opposes the policy, Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce has
signalled he might be willing to back the plan through the parliament.

If he does, it would further highlight the problems Turnbull and the Liberals are having
in dealing themselves into the political and economic debate.

Being in opposition is difficult at the best of times but even more so when the times
are tough and the potential to be proactive is rare.

By the time the budget comes around next month, the opposition will be needing to show
some signs of renewal to give it any real chance of traction in the electorate in the
run-up to the 2010 federal election.

And it's hard for Turnbull going up against the ever popular Rudd.

Despite the bad press, Rudd's rating as the better prime minister has risen to 67 per
cent this week, up from 60 per cent at the start of the year.

Turnbull, on the other hand, has seen his rating slip from 22 per cent to 18 per cent
over the same period.

It's not as bad as the worst figure - seven per cent - achieved by his predecessor
Brendan Nelson but is not far off the 16 per cent Nelson was on just before losing the
leadership.

And Turnbull's not helped by recent polling showing voters believe former treasurer
Peter Costello is a better option to lead the Liberals to the next election.

Once parliament resumes for the budget, the ghost of Costello will be haunting him
all over again, drowning out his message on the economy.

Now that's one resurrection Turnbull won't want to see.

AAP so/kms/tnf/de

KEYWORD: NEWSCOPE FEDERAL (AAP NEWS ANALYSIS)

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