Gillard has largely failed despite a string of policy successes to convince voters that their position and prospects compare favorably to much of the rest of the world.

The discontent puzzles policymakers who have tried to ensure businesses and consumers don't turn their glumness into a reality.

"Perhaps we as a society tend to not give sufficient weight to the fact that we are in a long upswing," Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens told lawmakers last week, highlighting the country's low unemployment rate, subdued inflation, strength in government finances and attractiveness to foreign investment.

The resource-rich country of just 22.8 million people has grown almost without pause for over two decades. Indeed, it was the only developed nation to dodge recession during the global financial crisis.

Its jobless rate of 5.1 percent is half that of the European Union and comfortably below the United States' 8.3 percent.

The country's banks are sound, government debt is small and the budget is well on the way to surplus. Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth recently made the Economist magazine's top10 list of the world's most liveable cities.

Yet you can't turn on a TV or pick up a newspaper without being bombarded by negative headlines, focusing on the political crisis, job losses and the rising cost of living.

Questions:

1. How many votes did Julia Gillard defeat Kevin Rudd by?

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