Peter Costello wasn’t invited last week when ministers met to discuss the PM’s future last week. Which may be just as well. A well-placed source tells Crikey that the other main topic of talk was the “deep unpopularity” of the Treasurer amongst his cabinet colleagues.

Tony Abbott called the Party Room meeting “full and frank”. Crikey understands the discussions about the Treasurer were “very robust”.

Costello’s colleagues, Crikey is told, saw no electoral advantage in a shift to the Treasurer.

Meanwhile, Crikey hears of infuriating inconsistencies in Coalition private polling. Yes, a swing is on, but not the sort of uniform swing described in the major public polls. The Government’s own polling, Crikey understands, contains some surprises — startling, not necessarily unhappy surprises — that leave some strategists scratching their hard heads.

Meanwhile, Morgan polling taken over the APEC sumit weekend saw the Coalition’s primary vote rise 1.5% to 36%, while support for the ALP (51%, up 2%) went above the 50% mark for the first time in more than two months.

With preferences distributed as they were at the 2004 Federal election, the twoparty preferred vote is ALP 59% (down 1%), LNP is 41% (up 1%). If the Federal election had been held last weekend the ALP would have won in a massive landslide.

Among the minor parties support for The Greens is 6% (down 3%), Family First 2% (unchanged), Australian Democrats 1% (down 1%), One Nation 0.5% (unchanged) and Other Parties and Independent Candidates 3.5% (up 0.5%). Presently, more electors think the ALP will win the next Federal election (66%, up 5.5%) than at any time during Kevin Rudd’s tenure as Labor leader, while just 24.5% (down 2%) think the LNP will win and 9.5% (down 3.5%) can’t say.

See full detail of the Morgan polling here.