Sydney - The referendum to replace the British monarch with a president as Australia's head of state looks more likely to fail than ever after a disastrous week for the once confident republican camp.
Leading ministers have predicted that the November vote will flop. And as the republican movement became even more deeply split, an opinion survey showed public support for the constitutional change on offer dropped by three percentage points, to 48 per cent.
A coalition known as the Real Republican Movement is campaigning against the so-called "minimal republic" blueprint which the referendum is to put to the vote. This scheme, which would have a president elected by parliament, was approved by a constitutional conference a year ago and is backed by the mainstream Australian Republican Movement (ARM).
The "real republicans" want a direct election by the people, a move the opinion polls overwhelmingly endorse, and this movement is now siding with monarchists to urge a No vote in any referendum that offers a president elected by parliament.