Asia-Pacific

Kevin Rudd preferred over Gillard as Labor leader

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-04-19 10:08

SYDNEY - Only one in 10 voters backs Australia's Treasurer Wayne Swan as their preferred Labor leader, while Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd continues to be more popular than Prime Minister Julia Gillard, according to a Newspoll published in The Australian newspaper on Tuesday.

One in four voters refused to nominate a preference between Gillard, Swan and Rudd in the Newspoll, conducted for The Australian between Friday and Sunday.

The Newspoll found that 10 percent of the 1,151 voters interviewed by telephone at the weekend backed the Deputy Prime Minister as their preferred leader while 29 percent of respondents listed Gillard, and Rudd was the clear leader, polling 36 percent.

While there is no suggestion that Gillard's leadership is under threat, if there was a move, the poll results suggests Swan would struggle to gain support, The Australian reported.