Anthony Albanese: Trust in prime minister evaporates with broken promises
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has possibly frittered away his most valuable personal political asset – trust – with 41 per cent of voters now less likely to vote Labor thanks to his broken promises not to alter negative gearing or capital gains tax concessions.
The Herald’s Resolve Political Monitor, which was conducted from September 6 to 12 and surveyed 2250 voters, showed that although 34 per cent previously had not trusted Albanese on broken promises, another 23 per cent had lost faith since the May budget.
Albanese’s preferred prime minister rating also took another hit, down three points to 29 per cent, yet support for lower house prices – the goal of Labor’s policy changes – is holding steady with 59 per cent of voters backing cheaper housing even as they mark the government down for breaking promises.
Adding to Albanese’s woes was that the belief in Labor’s ability to manage the economy had tanked, with 74 per cent of voters concerned about debt and 48 per cent demanding the government slash spending.
That said, Labor’s primary vote remained steady at 28 per cent. The Coalition and One Nation primary votes both rose 1 percentage point to 24 per cent and 27 per cent respectively.
Still, Labor was expected to win the next federal election by 33 per cent of voters. Eighteen per cent thought a Coalition win possible. But expectations of a One Nation victory soared to 28 per cent, up from 17 per cent the previous month.
Just 50 weeks ago, Albanese, flushed with electoral success, was on stage with the then-UK prime minister Keir Starmer, giving tips on how to combat the rise of Nigel Farage’s right-wing populist Reform UK party.
One Nation has since feasted on Coalition and some Labor votes to emerge as a political contender – an unimaginable achievement when Albanese was stealing the spotlight in Liverpool.
Bill Kelty, a former ACTU secretary who helped Bob Hawke and Paul Keating reform the Australian economy last century, nailed it when he said Albanese, in concert with his Treasurer Jim Chalmers, were fuelling One Nation and “insulting” voters by welcoming lower house prices as they preside over a fall in real wages that is making houses even more unaffordable.
Despite declining confidence in his trustworthiness, Albanese has frequently allowed himself to be distracted from the political main game as evidenced by his ill-judged remarks about Grace Tame, Kylie Minogue and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. On Sunday, he was favouring the personal over the prime ministerial and attacked Hanson over a largely ignored podcast made eight months ago when she sank to belittling his mother for the length of time she lived in public housing.
Albanese too often seems oblivious to the reality that a protest vote against him is no longer a vote for the Coalition, but dissatisfaction with big party politics fed by fears about living costs and a diet of trivial distractions that make it difficult to know whom to trust any more.
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