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Bloomberg
Australians’ approval of Prime Minister Scott Morrison has fallen to the lowest level since the pandemic began, with voters wearying of virus-induced lockdowns amid his government’s tardy vaccine rollout.
Support for Morrison’s handling of the crisis has fallen from 85% in April last year —when his conservative government imposed strict border controls that helped keep virus fatalities to less than 1,000—to 48%, according to a Newspoll survey published in the Australian newspaper on Monday.
On the question of who would make the better prime minister, which traditionally favours incumbents, Morrison’s lead over the opposition’s Anthony Albanese also slid to the lowest level since the pandemic began. Government lawmakers may be getting jittery about the key measure of voters’ party preference: Labor maintains a 6-point lead over the ruling coalition, 53% to 47%, ahead of an election due by May.
Albanese has attacked Morrison’s handling of the pandemic, blaming the government for failing to adjust the quarantine system for returning residents, which has seen at least 20 leaks of coronavirus into local communities this year. He also criticized Morrison for not signing sufficient contracts for vaccines with a wide enough range of suppliers.