Justis:"DaveMac, the reason they do polls on prefered PM is to...

Justis:

"DaveMac, the reason they do polls on prefered PM is to gauge what sort of support leaders have amoungst the public.

There are many examples of political partys dumping a leader because they are not popular,....."

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You don't dump a leader who has you 10 points up in the 2PP.

It would be different if the Coalition were trailing 45/55 and Abbott's rating was in the 30's - well, much like Gillard is now. Then you'd dump him/her.

However, again, the catalyst is what the 2PP is. That's the key. The rest is window dressing.

Besides, Abbott single-handedly dug the Coalition out of the hole they were in under Turnbull in 2009 after his Gretch moment and his unfathomable support for emissions trading. In the space of just a few months, Abbott dumped support for carbon trading, consigned a popular PM to the discount rack, raised the Coalition's ratings and almost achieved the rare achievement of knocking off a first term government. Since then, he's taken the coalition to even loftier heights in the polls. The Coalition owes him a shot at the title and he will get both - the shot and the title.

For those who bag Abbott, it is beyond question that he is THE most effective Opposition Leader in the past 40 years at least. He will make a sound Prime Minister. His task in healing the scorched earth policy of this regime should not be under-estimated though. The first 6 months will be spent submitting and re-submitting legislation to repeal a swathe of bad Acts from the CO2 tax to the Mining Tax to the NBN and unscrambling hundreds of eggs, in order to get a massive arsenal of double dissolution triggers. Put them all to a joint sitting after he wins that, and Australia will be back on track. That is, of course, assuming Labor doesn't fold after the next election and respects a mandate for change that could not be any clearer.