Australian PM Abbott faces mounting criticisms over job performance

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Australian PM Abbott faces mounting criticisms over job performance

Qualities that made him effective as opposition leader less desirable now

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 02 December, 2014, 12:18am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 02 December, 2014, 12:31am

Reuters in Sydney

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott faces mounting criticism.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has ended his first full year in office hobbled by missteps and a souring economy that have plunged his approval ratings to historic lows, increasing speculation he may not survive to a second term.

Faced with a collapse in commodities prices and an unruly upper house Senate that has held Abbott's first budget hostage since May, voters have abandoned his conservative government more quickly than any other in three decades.

Yesterday, in a long press conference to mark the anniversary of his swearing-in, Abbott described the government's performance in the past week as "ragged". That included his defence minister, David Johnston, saying he would not trust a government-owned submarine firm "to build a canoe", which led to calls for his sacking. "Obviously I take responsibility for everything in the end. I mean, the buck stops here," Abbott told reporters.

The drum beat of bad news, most recently the thrashing handed to Abbott's Liberal-National coalition in state elections in Victoria on Saturday, has sparked calls for Treasurer Joe Hockey and Johnston to be thrown out.

However, even a cabinet reshuffle may be too little, too late, with the opposition Labor Party increasingly painting Abbott as a hypocrite over the policy shifts that include deep cuts to the popular Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Abbott was a ruthlessly effective opposition leader against Labor Prime Ministers Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd, but those qualities are certainly less desirable in a prime minister, said Dr Andrew Hughes of the Australian National University.

"Tony Abbott's brand is so hard and it's so negative. It makes you wonder whether he was a one-use only brand," he said.

Abbott has had significant accomplishments this year, concluding free trade deals with Japan, South Korea and China, and hosting the G20 leaders summit last month.

Still, Labor has surged ahead to lead the government by a wide margin, 55 per cent to 45 per cent in the latest Newspoll released on November 18.

A cabinet reshuffle is likely after the Victorian election, Hughes said, but a leadership swap may already be unavoidable. The country's foreign minister, Julie Bishop, who has performed well this year, is seen as a possible leader.

Treasurer Hockey, once considered a successor for Abbott, has been hurt by the budget impasse and will be a likely target in any reshuffle. Opposition leader Bill Shorten said yesterday he expected that a scheduled mid-year fiscal update this month would confirm that the budget, Hockey's first, would also be his last.