The Labor leader is not disliked,but he is far from a household name. Minns’ opponent Dominic Perrottet had the benefit of being treasurer for five years,which no doubt raised his profile before his elevation to the top job.
But a treasurer’s big moment comes only once a year on budget day,and Perrottet was better known as an arch-conservative with a super-sized family from Sydney’s bible belt. He has slowly shaken that perception and is now at his most popular since becoming premier.
Minns,on the other hand,remains something of an enigma with much of the electorate.
The latest Resolve Political Monitor for theHeraldhas 40 per cent of voters listing Perrottet as preferred premier (up from 38 per cent) while Minns is on 34 per cent,exactly where he was three weeks ago.
Similarly,while the Coalition’s primary vote has shot up six percentage points to 38 per cent since the last Resolve survey in late February,Labor’s remains exactly where it was – on 38 per cent. The Coalition is making gains;Labor is steady.
Minns and Perrottet are relatively new leaders,although the Labor leader had a five-month head start in the job before Perrottet took over from the popular Gladys Berejiklian.