Peter Costello has been given cause to rethink his future, with the latest Herald/Nielsen poll showing the former Treasurer is by far the preferred Opposition leader, especially among Coalition supporters.
The poll gives the present leader, Brendan Nelson, cause for concern by finding him the least popular choice among voters, coming well behind both Mr Costello and Malcolm Turnbull.
And despite a bad month for the Government, due mainly to high petrol prices, Labor would still trounce the Coalition by 56pc to 44pc if an election were held today.
There is a sliver of good news for Dr Nelson with small but significant gains in both his approval rating and his rating as preferred Prime Minister.
Nielsen's research director, John Stirton, said: "Nelson's leadership has stabilised at relatively low levels."
The poll of 1401 voters - taken from Thursday to Saturday while Mr Rudd was overseas - puts greater pressure on Dr Nelson for a Coalition win at the Gippsland byelection on June 28.
The poll found 37pc of voters preferred Mr Costello as Opposition leader, compared with 29pc for Mr Turnbull and 19pc for Dr Nelson.
Among Coalition voters, support for Mr Costello leapt to 47pc, followed by 28pc for Mr Turnbull and 17pc for Dr Nelson.
Mr Stirton said the result was worrying for Dr Nelson because he was less popular than Mr Costello and Mr Turnbull when the poll last canvassed preferred Coalition leaders, in December 2006.
"He hasn't managed to change perceptions in the six months he's been in the leadership," he said.
While Mr Turnbull, the Shadow Treasurer, still has designs on the leadership, Mr Costello is expected by those close to him to leave politics in October, when his memoir will be published.
He rejected the leadership straight after the Coalition's election loss, on November 24.
Since the previous poll, a month ago, Labor has suffered because of petrol prices, struggled to sell its budget and been distracted by the Neal-Della Bosca affair.
Dr Nelson has been aided by his promise to cut fuel excise and by leaks from cabinet.
However, the Labor's two-party-preferred tally of 56pc to 44pc is virtually unchanged since the previous poll.
There has been a swing of 3pc to Labor since the election, enough to deliver 12 more seats.
Labor's primary vote fell two points in the past month, to 44pc, while the Coalition's stayed at 38pc.
Mr Rudd's approval rating fell two points but remains very high, at 67pc, but his disapproval rating shot up five points, to 27pc. Dr Nelson's approval rating rose four to 38pc.
Preference for Dr Nelson as prime minister rose three points, to 20pc, while Mr Rudd's support slipped from 70 to 68pc.
Mr Rudd's 48-point lead as preferred prime minister remains the second-highest since the poll began in 1972.
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