Pollster Don Mills says Premier Kathy Dunderdale likely won’t have too much to worry about when new public opinion numbers come out in the next week or two.
Dunderdale’s popularity rating is likely to take a hit, Mills said, but that’s to be expected.
Mills said with former premier Danny Williams out of the picture, his sky-high polling rates will fade.
“I think it would be unrealistic for anybody to expect the numbers to stay where they were,” Mills said. “He had five years where 80 per cent of the population was satisfied with his performance.
“Really, that’s not going to be repeated any time soon by any premier in Canada.”
In November, during the last quarterly polling done by Mills’ polling company, Corporate Research Associates (CRA), 76 per cent of residents listed Williams as their first choice for premier.
Polling numbers due out in early March will be the first time CRA has surveyed Newfoundlanders and Labradorians on Dunderdale and Mills said, realistically, she should expect her numbers to be lower.
“It’s not going to be 75 per cent, I wouldn’t think,” he said. “To some extent it will have nothing to do with Kathy Dunderdale at all. I think it’s just going to be people realizing that (Williams) was a pretty extraordinary personality that commanded support across party lines.”
A poll recently done by NTV News showed 65 per cent of residents listed Dunderdale as their first choice for premier.
“We always say that if you can achieve more than 60 per cent satisfaction, that’s really what a reasonable mark is,” Mills said.
Liberal Leader Yvonne Jones was trailing far behind with 11.5 per cent support.
When Jones was asked about polling numbers she pointed out that she hasn’t been active as leader in the past six months. Jones was forced to take time off to undergo surgery and chemotherapy for breast cancer.
Mills said that over time, the Liberal party can look to make gains in public opinion. He said Williams had appeal that cut across party lines and, with him out of the picture, Liberal polling numbers should return to their core support of 30-35 per cent.
“This is not the Danny Williams era,” he said. “That’s a once in a lifetime situation.”
jmcleod@thetelegram.com
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