An increased majority of Australian electors say John Howard should continue as Prime Minister and contest his fifth federal election as Liberal leader, a new Morgan Poll has found.

Fifty-eight per cent of voters – up 3% since March – say John Howard should continue, 35% (down 5%) say he should retire before the election while 7% (up 2%) can’t say.  

An overwhelming majority of Coalition voters – 81% – believe Howard should contest the next election.

But this mightn’t be a vote of confidence. In fact, it might be a case of “You got us into this. Now show us how you’re going to get us out.”

These are the main findings of a special telephone Morgan Poll conducted on the nights of August 21/22, 2007, with 633 Australian electors. A report with detailed analysis (computer tables) by state/region and all demographics is available here.