Politics

Coronavirus: Scott Morrison's popularity surges

08:40 am on 21 May 2020

Listen

As lockdowns ease New Zealand and Australia, the political fortunes of the leaders of both countries have soared.

While Jacinda Ardern's success in the polls has lead to a leadership coup in the National Party, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also surged in the opinion of the public.

A recent poll put his approval rating at sixty-six percent - one of the highest for any Australian leader in years. So is a crisis the best thing an incumbent can hope for?

Morrison's new-found popularity marks a stark change from the bushfire crisis earlier this year, when he was skewered for taking a secretive holiday to Hawaii while fires burned across the country.

Stephen Dziedzic is a political reporter for the ABC in Canberra.