According to a Newspoll published on Monday, Labor leads the Liberal Party 51-49 two-party preferred, but Labor\u2019s chances were dismissed by Xenophon.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack in 1998 [former Labor leader] Kim Beazley won 52-48 and still lost that election,\u201d Xenophon told David and Will on FIVEAA Breakfast.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s almost impossible for Labor to get to the number of seats they need to form government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But in the event his candidates were called on to resolve a hung parliament, Xenophon said he had \u201cno bias\u201d towards either Liberal or Labor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would imagine that those candidates would sit down and consult with their electorates widely, as to what the electorate wanted to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would depend on where that seat was won from. It would depend on who would give the best deal for those seats and for the nation as a whole.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think issues affecting South Australia are in the national interest in terms of the collapse of manufacturing, to make sure that we have some decent population growth and decent economic growth and jobs growth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d love to be in that position after July 2, but I think it\u2019s almost impossible, it\u2019s a million to one shot.\u201d<\/p>\n