article_snippet: Tony Abbott has been thrown a lifeline by Australian voters just as Tony Abbott internal opponents appeared ready to dump Tony Abbott, with the latest opinion poll confirming a pro-government shift is under way.
article_snippet: Yet Tony Abbott continues to lag behind Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull as preferred leader of the Liberal Party, with the latter scoring highter in all of 10 leadership attributes voters were surveyed about.
article_snippet: Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten remains the preferred prime minister compared to Tony Abbott, but Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten margin has been slashed from 16 points to five since the previous poll to sit at 44-39.
article_snippet: Tony Abbott continues to lag behind Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull as preferred leader, losing out in all 10 of the leadership attributes surveyed .
article_snippet: Prospective leadership contenders
article_snippet: Julie Bishop and Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull steered clear of the speculation, with both declaring Julie Bishop and Mr Turnbull support for Tony Abbott.
article_snippet: Julie Bishop and Mr Turnbull threw Julie Bishop and Mr Turnbull support behind Tony Abbott on Sunday following the latest opinion poll . '
highlights_snippet: But Tony Abbott lags behind Malcolm Turnbull as voters' preferred leader .
  