SMEs back Abbott as preferred Prime Minister: SmartCompany poll

New Prime Minster Julia Gillard has plenty of work in front of her if she is to win the next Federal election, with a SmartCompany poll showing Tony Abbott is the clear pick among small and medium business people.

The poll, which asked respondents to choose either Gillard or Abbot as preferred Prime Minster, showed Abbott has a clear lead in the race for The Lodge

Of the 427 respondents, 56% said Abbott was their preferred Prime Minster, compared to 44% who are backing Gillard.

While Gillard’s promise to consult more widely has been welcomed by business groups, a number of comments from readers on Gillard’s promotion to the top job showed many voters are unimpressed with the manner of Kevin Rudd’s dumping, and the fact Gillard was not elected by the electorate.

“Why did we bother voting if the factional heavyweights can pull stunts like this and provide us with a new PM overnight?,” one reader wrote.

“Regardless of what people think of Rudd, he became Australia’s PM because people voted for him. Australians are yet to vote for Gillard.”

In a press conference at Parliament House this morning, Gillard defended the manner of her appointment and said she had acted in the national interest to get a Government that had lost its way back on track.

But Tony Abbott, who has been highly critical of the manner of Kevin Rudd’s “execution”, has set Gillard three tests.

“I don’t believe she can stop the boats. I don’t think she’s got the guts to accept she was wrong and end the school hall rip offs and I certainly don’t think she can fix the mining tax.”

SmartCompany will regularly poll readers over the next few months in the lead up to the election to monitor how sentiment is shifting.