CANBERRA, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has acknowledged voters "anger" ahead of Saturday's crucial Wentworth by-election.
Independent candidate Kerryn Phelps is considered a strong chance to win Wentworth from the governing Liberal-National Party Coalition (LNP), a result that would extinguish the LNP's one-seat majority in the House of Representatives.
While the government would likely hold on to power with the support of minor parties and independents including Phelps, losing Wentworth would put it in the precarious position of facing a no-confidence motion at any time.
The Wentworth by-election was triggered when former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull resigned from parliament after he was deposed by the Liberal Party with Morrison installed as leader.
A loss in Wentworth, long considered a safe seat for the Liberal Party, would be a devastating blow for the government and its plan to project stability ahead of the next general election, which is due to take place before the end of May 2019.
The most recent Newspoll, Australia's most respected opinion poll, found that the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) led the LNP 53-47 on a national two-party preferred basis and would easily win the general election.
Morrison on Friday said he understood why voters in Wentworth were "angry" about Turnbull's downfall but downplayed his own role in August's leadership turmoil, saying he supported Turnbull until the end.
"I understand why the Liberals are feeling angry in Wentworth about what happened a couple of months ago," he said.
"I was there at the time. As people know, I was supporting the then prime minister very strongly."
Phelps, the former president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) and deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney, on Thursday refused to rule out voting against the government in a motion of no confidence.
If 76 of the 150 members of the House of Representatives agree to a motion of no confidence in the government parliament would be dissolved and an election called.
"I think we'd have to see the context of what that was," she told Sky News Australia of the no confidence motion.
"But my intention would not be to bring the government down before its term was completed. I think it should be in the hands of the Australian people to decide who their next government was going to be, and that should happen at a general election.
"We have chaos now. The government has gone from confusion to chaos."
Liberal Party polling released on Wednesday revealed that Phelps led Sharma 55-45 on a two-party preferred basis.
Senior government figures have been critical of Turnbull because he has refused to campaign on Sharma's behalf in Wentworth, instead remaining on holiday in the U.S. while his son, Alex, has actively campaigned against the LNP.
"We're going to have an election within 12 months anyway, so if you want to send a signal as to which way the Liberal Party is going, and your displeasure with where it's going, then this is your opportunity," Alex Turnbull said in a video posted on social media.
"Don't vote for the Liberal Party in the Wentworth by-election. If you want to pull the Liberal Party back from the brink it's the one clear signal you can send."
