A major new poll has revealed that the Morrison government is in real danger of being swept from power, but the treasurer is pinning his hopes on a ‘secret weapon’.
Josh Frydenberg is putting the fate of his political future in the hands of ‘quiet Australians’ as new polls show he is in real danger of losing his seat to an independent candidate.
According to the YouGov MRP poll – commissioned exclusively for News Corp – the treasurer would lose his seat to self-styled independent “teal” Monique Ryan.
But Mr Frydenberg says he takes any polls suggesting he faces political demise “with a pot of salt”, and trusts what Scott Morrison calls “silent Australians”.
“There is still a long way to go and the battle will be close, but… I have worked in my local community for 12 years,” Mr Frydenberg told Sky News.
According to the poll, if the election were held today, Labor would win 80 seats in parliament – securing 12 from the coalition and winning a five-seat majority.
The Liberal blue ribbon seats in Melbourne, Kooyong and Goldstein, would go to independents who received Climate 200 funding.
Mr. Frydenberg says he doesn’t take the poll as gospel.
“We know that since the last time when people wrote us off, the Australian people produced a very different outcome,” Mr Frydenberg said,
“There are a lot – as the Prime Minister calls them – silent Australians there.
“John Howard called them his fighters. Sir Robert Menzies called them the Forgotten, and in the UK they are called the “Shy Tories”.
“Essentially, these are people who may not answer every survey or phone call…they go about their daily lives…and they know that Scott Morrison and the Coalition have been better economic managers.
Mr Frydenberg said he was “very disappointed” to hear former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull lobbying for disenfranchised Liberals to turn away from the Coalition and back Independents.
“Monique Ryan had called Malcolm Turnbull a national disgrace, and I doubt Malcolm would want to support someone who calls him a national disgrace,” he said.
“I am very focused on winning my seat, but more importantly, with the coalition retaining government – we have a very strong case for re-election.”
Based on a sample of nearly 19,000 voters across the country, the YouGov poll found
losses for the Coalition could be significant, including four seats in Victoria, two in NSW, two in WA and one each in Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania.
Six other seats are considered too close to call.
The Coalition would need a late turn to it of at least 3% in key seats to retain power.
Labor campaign spokesman Jason Clare said while he was “skeptical” about the polls, he felt “people have had it to their teeth with Scott Morrison”.
“(People) are tired of the lies, the rorts, the excuses and the incompetence,” Mr Clare told the Nine Network.
“(People) want something better. We can make child care cheaper, we can fix elderly care, we can strengthen health insurance, and we can make it easier to buy a home.
Comments are closed.