Williams soars in poll, with little sting from audit scandal

A poll that shows Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams holding a commanding lead in voter support indicates little personal fallout from the auditing scandal that has rocked political circles, a pollster says.

The latest quarterly tracking poll by Halifax-based Corporate Research Associates found 78 per cent of voters picked Williams as their preferred choice of premier up four percentage points from a spring poll.

The poll of 412 adults, conducted between Aug. 12 and Sept. 1 followed a series of scathing reports from the auditor general on legislative spending at the house of assembly, which have triggered a police investigation.

The scandal has cut across party lines, but Williams lost one of his most trusted lieutenants, Ed Byrne, who resigned his post as natural resources minister in the wake of Auditor General John Noseworthy's first report.

CRA president Don Mills said the new poll, in which 89 per cent said they are satisfied with the premier's performance, shows the damage from the scandal has been limited.

"It's quite clear that the population of Newfoundland and Labrador attribute no blame whatsoever to the party, nor the premier himself," Mills told CBC News.

Apart from Byrne, Noseworthy's audits have focused on two Liberals Torngat Mountains MHA Wally Andersen and retired politician Jim Walsh and one New Democrat, Randy Collins.

The poll also found a widening gulf between Williams and the other political leaders.

Liberal leader Gerry Reid, for instance, drew nine per cent of voter support. Former leader Jim Bennett, who resigned his post this spring amid reports for discord within the party, drew 12 per cent in February.

Only four per cent of those polled, meanwhile, picked new NDP leader Lorraine Michael as their choice for premier. A year ago, former NDP leader Jack Harris was drawing 12 per cent.

"Their support is about a third of what it was a year ago," said Mills, adding that Michael will have a struggle to retain Harris's seat in Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

Last month, the Liberals accused Williams and the Tories of distributing meaningless "good-news" releases through the government's information service to sway voters. The Tories dismissed the charges.

When asked for which party they would vote if an election were held today, 73 per cent of decided voters picked the Tories, the same percentage as last May. By comparison, 18 per cent chose the Liberals, seven per cent picked the NDP, and two per cent said they either would select other candidates or none at all.

The poll results are considered accurate to within 4.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Highest-ever showing for premier: pollster

Mills said Williams's personal popularity is amazing.

"It's the highest number we've ever seen in Atlantic Canada, going back 20 years," Mills said. "This is really unheard of, it's just extraordinary. I think all politicians would like to aspire to these kinds of personal ratings."

When the spring poll was completed, Mills had said Williams had nowhere to go but down. He said he stands corrected, but feels the numbers will even out as the general election set for Oct. 9, 2007, moves closer.

"These numbers are, I believe, artificially high. It's hard to imagine they could be sustained at this level," he said.

Mills said Williams is enjoying voters' favour because of tough stands he has taken on issues such as Hebron. Williams suspended negotiations with owners of the offshore oil field when they would not agree to his demand for an ownership stake.

While business leaders have criticized Williams for putting the province's economic recovery in jeopardy, Mills said voters seem to be on the premier's side.

"One of the big reasons I believe that the premier is so popular right now is he has really taken a tough stand on behalf of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in terms of dealing with, for instance, the oil companies on mineral rights and oil and gas revenue," Mills said.

"Those things really resonate well with the population in the province."