The “double enemies” could spell trouble for both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton as the race tightens ahead of the next election.
Polling by Redbridge has found Australians are uninspired by the two leaders vying for the premiership and drifting away from the main parties.
Dutton slightly ahead of Albanese in Resolve Sydney poll Morning Herald on the weekend, backed by 36 percent of voters.
RedBridge director Tony Barry said voters want a leader with integrity, empathy, strength and vision, and they are not currently seeing that.
“In our research, voters do not recognize these attributes in any of the major party candidates and instead what we are seeing is the emergence and rise of ‘double enemies’ across the Australian political landscape,” said the Mr. Barry.
The ‘double enemies’ could spell trouble for both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton as the race tightens ahead of the next election.
The term “double enemy” has been imported from American politics and refers to voters who have developed a deep dislike for the two main candidates.
In this circumstance, Albanese has failed to achieve results in key areas such as the cost of living crisis. As a result, voters are struggling to pay their bills and buy food.
Dutton noted during an interview with Sky News on Sunday that there are “pensioners this weekend who are either eating or staying warm, but not both.”
“This is contributing to the further agony for Australians that the Prime Minister is imposing on them right now, and that will be a big difference between the two parties as we get closer to the next election,” he said.
But for most of his time in opposition, Dutton has been burdened by the presumption that he is “ineligible”.
Young people lead the charge and feel the lowest levels of loyalty towards any party.
But the latest poll shows for the first time that he is now ahead of Albanese on key measures, including most importantly as preferred prime minister.
However, neither leader is making an impact among voters, with personal support hovering around 30 percent, while a large young proportion of the population moves away from the main parties.
Barry noted: “Like their American counterparts, this Australian cohort feels alienated and dissatisfied with both the Labor Party and the Coalition.
“Typically, (they) have no brand loyalty from any of the major parties.”
He warned that both parties will seek to make the next election a “referendum on the other candidate” rather than a debate on key policy issues.
Redbridge director Kos Samaras said “double enemies” are a clear reality that the government and opposition will face in the next election.
He said young people are leading the charge and feel the lowest levels of loyalty towards any party.
Young people drove the vote towards the Greens and independents in the last election, and Samaras told ABC they will likely continue to “largely destabilize the two-party political system in this country.”
Dutton slightly edged Albanese according to a Resolve poll looking at Australians’ favorite prime minister.
The warning comes as rumors grow stronger that the prime minister could call elections in 2024.
A vote must be held before May 2025, but the Stage Three tax cuts, which take effect in July, have sparked speculation about an earlier call to the polls.
Now Dutton has also weighed in on whether a federal election is likely to be held sooner rather than later, with worrying economic conditions on the horizon, he said.
“There is a possibility that we could go into recession, which is why I think there is talk of early elections,” he said.
“The Prime Minister will want to leave before then.”
He blamed the current government for “slowly paralyzing the economy.”
But Albanese will still hold out hope that the tide can turn thanks to Labour’s latest tax cuts and budget improvements.
The May budget included a $300 energy bill credit for each household, an increase in rental assistance and a $3 billion waiver of student debt indexation.
These measures are in addition to tax cuts, which benefit all taxpayers except high-income earners.
The average household will receive an annual tax cut of $1,888, or $36 per week.
Dutton has now also weighed in on whether an election is likely to be held in 2024.
