Australia’s PM under pressure after 30 straight poll losses

A poll out today is widely expected to reveal that Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull’s centre-right government continues to trail the opposition for the 30th time in a row. Ironically, Mr Turnbull used poor polling numbers to justify his ousting of previous PM Tony Abbott in 2015.

Now, the prime minister’s poll results are sparking speculation about his own future. Under pressure from the media, senior cabinet members, including high-profile Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, have reaffirmed their loyalty to Mr Turnbull over the past week.

The most likely challenge to Australia’s leader would come from the conservative right-wing of the ruling Liberal party, led by Tony Abbott, the man Turnbull ousted. This faction increasingly finds itself at odds with the government’s policies on social and energy issues.

However, the party’s mainstream is currently unlikely to support an Abbott-led putsch, primarily because polling shows that the current PM is personally popular.