Newspoll 55-45

THE Coalition has taken a hit from last week's historic interest rate rise but John Howard remains the clear choice of economic manager over Kevin Rudd, according to the latest Newspoll.

At today's official Coalition campaign launch in Brisbane, the Prime Minister will deliver a set of tightly targeted initiatives to families and home owners in a dual appeal to Mr Howard's traditional supporters and the theme of a frugal economic manager.

According to the Newspoll survey, Coalition support has slipped slightly and satisfaction with Mr Howard has dropped after the rate rise, while Labor has retained its election-winning lead.

The survey, conducted at the weekend exclusively for The Australian, after the Reserve Bank raised interest rates by 0.25 of a per cent, showed the Coalition's primary vote down two percentage points to 40 per cent and Labor steady at 48 per cent.

Dennis Shanahan's take here
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