Guardian Essential poll: more Australians approve of Hanson’s party leadership than Albanese or Taylor’s

A majority of surveyed Australians approve of Pauline Hanson’s leadership of One Nation, giving her a higher job approval rating than Anthony Albanese and Angus Taylor, as the Guardian Essential poll finds the rightwing populist party is outperforming the Coalition for the first time. The results come as Australians are becoming more pessimistic about the country and the economy, with the majority of respondents saying they expected things to get worse in coming months. The latest Guardian Essential poll , of 1,067 Australians conducted last week, found 23% of respondents strongly approved of the job Hanson is doing as leader of One Nation, with another 29% saying they approved. Only 11% said they disapproved and 23% strongly disapproved, giving a total of 52% approving and 34% disapproving. Hanson had a positive rating among all age groups, including 18-34-year-olds (48% approve, 35% disapprove), 35-54s (50-34%) and 55+ (58-34%), as well as among all men (56-34%) and all women (49-35%). Hanson also received approval from 33% of Labor voters, 61% of Coalition voters and 21% of Greens voters, as well as 97% of One Nation voters. The One Nation leader’s highest approval was in Queensland (59-30%), then South Australia (53-32%), NSW (52-34%) and Victoria (50-38%). Hanson’s approval outstripped Albanese and Taylor. Asked about the job Albanese is doing as prime minister, a total of 41% approved and 51% disapproved. …