NL POLITICS: THE STATE OF PLAY

The latest poll from CRA does little more than reaffirm prior perceptions held by the public about the Premier and the Ball Administration.

The polling group found that 34% of decided voters supported the Liberals, 40% backed the PCs, while 24% stood behind the NDP.

Two other statistics offer confirmation that the Liberals are in deep trouble: satisfaction with the government stands at only 28%, while in leader preference Dwight Ball receives 23% support against 36% for PC leader Paul Davis and 16% for Earle McCurdy of the NDP.

The results essentially mirror those reported when Ball’s popularity dropped off a cliff last year.

LIBERALS WANT TO REPLACE 'NEVER-READY' PREMIER

When the incumbent Liberal government is less popular than the Tories – booted out of office just sixteen months ago - rumours that some key members of the Liberal caucus are looking for a new leader just makes sense.

The most recent Poll by Corporate Research Associates puts support for the P.C’s at 39% (up from 34%) compared with 33% for the Liberals – a drop of 9% since November 2016. The NDP benefitted from the Liberals' loss by 3%, raising their popular support to 26%.

The decline in Liberal fortunes is manifested by the poor grade given the Government’s performance. Now, a whopping 71% are dissatisfied on some level compared with 59% in the last quarter.  Personal support for the Premier rests at a mere 21% - down from 27%. Support for Davis also dropped by 2 points to 33% from 35%, though his intention to step down makes the number irrelevant.  NDP McCurdy's cold fire got icy as support declined to 26% from 28%.  

What are we to make of those new Poll numbers?