JOHN HOWARD, Australia’s prime minister since 1996, may be ousted in federal elections next Saturday, polls suggested this weekend.

The opposition leader, Kevin Rudd, pulled ahead after portraying the Liberal coalition government as a big spender and his own Labor party as economically conservative.

Rudd sensed that voters were becoming frustrated with election “bribes” and, as Howard made spending promises of A$9.4 billion (£4.1 billion), Rudd pledged just A$2.3 billion (£1 billion) of sweeteners at his campaign launch last week.

“I have no intention . . . of repeating Mr Howard’s irresponsible spending spree,” he said to cheers in Brisbane.

Analysts believe Rudd has copied the tactics of Tony Blair by abandoning Labor’s traditional tax-and-spend policies and stealing the conservatives’ clothes. One has called him “the Tone Clone”.

His strategy seems to be winning approval. The latest Nielsen poll, published on Friday, put Labor on 54%, compared with 46% for the Liberal coalition. Surveys in marginals last week showed Labor gaining ground.

Howard, 68, has won four elections and is renowned for coming from behind in the polls, but there are indications that he may struggle to hold his seat in the face of a strong challenge by Maxine McKew, a former television journalist.

Yesterday he fought back, accusing Rudd, 50, of “irresponsible hypocrisy” in his claim to economic conservatism. It was, said the staunchly monarchist Howard, “about as plausible as me converting to republicanism”. He insisted the election was still “very, very winnable”.

Howard and his treasurer, Peter Costello, have repeatedly portrayed Labor as a union-dominated party, claiming that 70% of the shadow cabinet ministers are former union bosses.

Rudd’s camp portrays Howard as stuck in the past. “Mr Howard has no plans for the future because he’s not going to be there,” said Rudd, a republican whose party officials have talked of holding a plebiscite on whether to drop the Queen as head of state.

Rudd, a former diplomat who speaks fluent Mandarin, received a boost to his popularity in the run-up to the campaign when it was reported that he had gone to a New York lap-dancing club during a visit to the United Nations four years ago. He said he was too drunk to remember what had happened.

His youthful image has drawn comparisons to Blair’s modernising zeal and he insists on calling party members “friends” rather than “comrades”.

One commentator wrote: “Ruddopia, the parallel universe where Labor declares spending bad, inflation a social evil and heavy metal music mandatory in schools, is upon us.” A Labor official echoed the amazement in the party, saying: “Have you ever seen people at a Labor party launch applaud being fiscally conservative?”

VIdeo of Rudd and Howard's election speech introduction

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