Australian Voters Are Snubbing Turnbull After His Spat With Trump

  • Newspoll shows support hits lowest since Turnbull took power
  • Turnbull seeks traction with lawmakers as parliament resumes
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While Malcolm Turnbull’s spat with U.S. President Donald Trump has thrust him into the international spotlight, a new poll shows the Australian prime minister’s biggest challenge may be turning around his own government’s performance.

Primary support for Turnbull’s Liberal-National coalition has slumped 4 percentage points to 35 percent, the lowest since he seized the leadership in September 2015, according to a Newspoll conducted Feb. 2-5 and published on Monday in the Australian newspaper. The government trails the main opposition Labor party 54 percent to 46 percent on a two-party preferred basis.