JOHN Howard "bared his throat" to his cabinet colleagues yesterday, inviting them to blame him for the Coalition's polling results.
John Howard wants to know if he is part of the Coalition's problem.
The Prime Minister asked an electoral war cabinet in Canberra, "Am I the problem?", inviting his colleagues to offer frank criticism of his leadership.
But his colleagues were silent.
The meeting, ostensibly called to discuss climate change, became an open debate about the Coalition's dire polling position.
Cabinet heard that the Coalition's longevity - and that of Mr Howard who, as leader, is now Australia's second-oldest prime minister in office, after Robert Menzies - was a problem for the Government.
But cabinet sources said support was "rock solid" for Mr Howard and there was no threat of a leadership challenge.
Others insisted the Prime Minister had not "put his job on the line", but had asked colleagues to "speak up" about Coalition problems and offer ideas on how to counter a rampant Labor Party. For months, the Coalition has been trailing Labor in the public polling and only in the past week has Mr Howard drawn level with Kevin Rudd as the preferred prime minister in The Australian's Newspoll surveys.
The Opposition Leader has deftly countered several attempts by Mr Howard to regain the political initiative by opening new veins of debate focused on the theme that Mr Howard has succumbed to arrogance.
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