Mini-scandals take the gloss off Rudd's political Teflon

CANBERRA - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd might want to start praying a bit harder during his daily devotions.

The devout Rudd, who confessed to the Salvation Army's War Cry magazine that despite trying very, very hard, he did not always remember the ethic that life "is not all about me", is starting to wear on the nation.

After a series of polls showing declining esteem, and a run of bad personal press, Rudd was yesterday hit with a new Galaxy poll showing most Australians regard their Prime Minister as a man who can turn nasty if he does not get his way.

And while twice as many respondents considered him more trustworthy than Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull, one-third could not make up their minds between the two men.

Previous polls have shown a downward trend in Rudd's popularity, although he and the Labor Party continue to maintain a comfortable lead over the Opposition.

But more mud has been sticking to Rudd's political Teflon.

"Kevin Rudd continues to be perceived as the best leader, although the poll suggests his recent behaviour may have removed some of the gloss," said Galaxy Research chief executive David Briggs.

Rudd came to power as a cleanskin compromise with a background in foreign affairs and bureaucracy that few Australians knew anything about.

Married to millionaire businesswoman Therese Rein, he emerged as the only viable candidate to lead Labor against former conservative Prime Minister John Howard and enjoyed one of the longest and brightest political honeymoons in recent Australian history after his 2007 election victory.

But his halo began slipping when he reduced a female attendant to tears on an Air Force VIP flight home from Papua New Guinea for failing to provide a special meal for his diet.

"All of us are human," he said later in a public apology. "We make mistakes. This would be one of them."

Then on a Christmas visit to Diggers in Afghanistan, Rudd allegedly "chucked a wobbly" when soldiers could not produce a hair-dryer for a photo opportunity.

He dismissed the report as "laughable, ridiculous and untrue" but the story stuck.

So did perceptions of elitism, fuelled by his mastery of Mandarin, the rarified atmosphere of his pre-political life and, last week, revelations about his official wine cellar. His Kirribilli, Sydney Harbour, residence was revealed to have a A$6000 stock of wine and spirits, supplemented by a further A$14,000 selection at The Lodge in Canberra.

On the shelves was a A$300 bottle of Dom Perignon 1985.

His home state was even more miffed at the news that while wine from every other state was included - as well as from New Zealand, France and Canada - there was none from Queensland.

Meanwhile, unions are furious that an unapologetic Rudd intends lifting the retirement age from 65 to 67, condemned by critics as entrenching the privileges of the wealthy while sentencing working Australians to "50 years' hard labour".

Diplomats further claim he blocked the appointment of a new ambassador to Berlin because of strained personal relations, while the Chinese are disturbed at being cast as the villains in new defence spending plans.

And Laurie Oakes, one of the nation's most influential political commentators, added salt to the wounds inflicted on Rudd for his botched attempts to sell the Budget.

"Those pundits who put this down to misguided 'spin' are off the mark," Oakes wrote in his News Ltd column.

"It is the result of old-fashioned, unadulterated incompetence."