i am ready to be pm, abbott declares

Tony Abbott has declared he and his coalition colleagues are ready to govern as the election campaign enters its final week.

The latest Galaxy poll, published in News Corp Australia papers on Sunday, shows the coalition on track for a comfortable win leading Labor 53-47 per cent.

"I think I am ready, my team is ready, our plan is ready and we can produce a better country," Mr Abbott told ABC Television on Sunday.

The opposition leader says if the coalition wins next Saturday's election he is "acutely conscious of the burden of duty and responsibility that has descended on my shoulders".

"I'll be very, very conscious of that."
Mr Abbott rejected Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's view that he doesn't have the temperament to handle complex foreign issues such as the Syrian crisis.

"I thought that was a comment that was a little beneath our prime minister," he said, adding it was "an echo" of what Paul Keating said about John Howard ahead of the 1996 election which the coalition won in a landslide.

"I am ready for the responsibilities of the highest office, including foreign responsibilities."

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/09/01/09/56/i-am-ready-to-be-pm-abbott-declares