Pauline Hanson, Barnaby Joyce see jump in voter likeability
The senior Nationals MP, who will spend the Christmas break considering the possibility of joining One Nation, doesn’t need everyone to like him. The net approval rating among Coalition voters is plus 16 percent, and the net approval rating among One Nation voters is 22 percent.
Overall, 26 percent of voters said they would be more likely to vote for One Nation if Joyce were to become leader one day, while 22 percent of voters said they would be less likely to support the party if Joyce was in office, while 53 percent said it would make no difference.
In a warning to Ley and Nationals leader David Littleproud, 33 per cent of Coalition voters said they were more likely to vote for One Nation if Joyce became leader, while just 19 per cent said they were less likely and 48 per cent were undecided.
The findings could strengthen Joyce’s resolve to quit nationals and make party colleagues uneasy about letting the two-time former leader leave.
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Hastie, who resigned from the shadow cabinet two months ago to speak out on immigration, climate and other conservative flashpoints, has also seen his net favorability rise from plus-four in September to plus-six in October and now plus-eight.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s net favorability score was minus one, up 16 percentage points from minus 17 last December, and Ley’s net favorability score was minus one, down from the plus 11 she received in her first poll after taking over as leader in July.
Hanson, Joyce and Hastie tapped into a deep well of discontent as Australians grapple with housing costs and utility bills, and the issues the trio mentioned, such as immigration, energy security, cost of living and revitalizing Australian manufacturing, resonate with voters.
Ley’s opponents will be tempted to use this latest poll to argue that the opposition leader has already moved the Liberals too far towards the centre, or worse, that he too has moved towards the centre. whitemange and voters stopped listening.
Ley’s supporters will counter that there are many, many more votes to be won back in the political centre, including in seats captured by the turquoises, and that Ley should be given time and fresh air to advance in the cities.
But if the Nationals survivor eventually decides to join One Nation, it seems both he, Hanson and the party he helped found two decades ago will benefit.
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