Tuesday, February 4, 2014

LIBERALS PICKING UP SUBSTANTIAL NDP AND PC SUPPORT

The VOCM–Abacus Data poll released yesterday provides us with the first snapshot of the
post-Dunderdale political landscape in the province.

VOCM on-air personality Tim Powers
is a managing director of Abacus which is one the county’s leading public
opinion and marketing research firms.These are not question-of-the day results.

The survey was conducted between January 27th and 30th.
500 people were interviewed from all across the province allowing for a regional
breakdown of support.

The poll confirms that the Liberals are king of the castle
in terms of public opinion. The bad news for the governing PC’s is not just
that they are 15 points behind the Liberals but more concerning; their party
base is dissolving. 28% of those
interviewed who said they voted PC in the past intend to vote Liberal.

The Liberals are also picking up support from voters who
supported the NDP in the past. 31% of former NDP supporters say they will now
vote Liberal. This is welcome news to the Liberals who failed to secure a seat
in St. John’s in 2011.

If the tory strategy was to get the smell of arrogance and
distrust off them by ejecting the leader, it looks not to be working. The
voting public appears to be as disappointed in the party as they were with
Kathy Dunderdale.

A lot can happen between the leadership, renewal and the
next election.

One thing is for certain, it looks like a tough, up-hill
battle for the provincial Progressive Conservatives and that job will be even tougher with a
leader associated with the current administration.