Prime Minister Tony Abbott regularly points to the rocky first term of former prime minister John Howard to show how leaders can recover from a dip in their popularity.
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"This is not the first government to have a rough patch in the polls," Mr Abbott has said. "The Howard government, the Thatcher government, the Reagan government all had rough patches in the polls and I guess I'm not the first leader to be subjected to a bit of speculation."
But if the besieged Prime Minister is to bounce back, the task ahead of him is larger than any faced by his three predecessors, according to analysis of the latest Fairfax Ipsos poll.
A poll comparing the approval ratings of Mr Abbott, Julia Gillard, Kevin Rudd and John Howard at the same point of their first terms in office shows Mr Abbott lagging well behind.
With an approval rating of just 29 per cent, Mr Abbott trails Mr Howard's approval rating of 46 per cent at the same point during his first term.
Julia Gillard had an approval rating of 33 per cent at the 16-month mark of her first term in October 2011, while Kevin Rudd's enormous public popularity was sitting at 74 per cent in October 2009.
Mr Abbott's rating as preferred prime minister is 34 per cent which again trails Mr Howard's history on 48 per cent, Ms Gillard on 44 per cent and Mr Rudd on 69 per cent.
Mr Abbott will on Monday give a crucial speech to the National Press Club Monday amid mounting speculation about his leadership.
Senior ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop, both the subject of leadership speculation, repeated their support for the Prime Minister.
The Fairfax Ipsos poll shows Mr Abbott's approval rating among Coalition voters has dropped 18 points since December to 59 per cent.
More than a third of Coalition voters – 36 per cent – disapprove of Mr Abbott's performance and only three in 10 believe Mr Abbott will remain leading the Liberal Party at the next election.
Bill Shorten's approval rating is 48 per cent, up two points since December and at 50 per cent he is the preferred prime minister.
The Coalition would lose nearly 40 seats if the results were replicated at the next election.
PM approval rating after same period in office
John Howard - 46 per cent
Kevin Rudd - 74 per cent
Julia Gillard - 33 per cent
Tony Abbott - 29 per cent
Preferred PM rating after same period in office
John Howard - 48 per cent
Kevin Rudd - 69 per cent
Julia Gillard - 44 per cent
Tony Abbott - 34 per cent
