Annastacia Palaszczuk lashes out after she was photographed holidaying in Europe with her surgeon boyfriend: ‘Leaders need to have a break and I had a break’

Annastacia Palaszczuk has broken her silence after returning to work on Monday following an international holiday – saying she’s ‘feeling refreshed’. 

The Queensland Premier jetted back into Brisbane airport on Sunday evening after a two-week European holiday and a slump in the polls at home for the Labor Party.

Ms Palaszczuk is attended a Labor caucus meeting on Monday morning, just 12 hours after her flight home landed, amid rumblings her leadership may be at risk.

After the meeting, she said: ‘I’ve led this party through three successful election victories and … the thing that energises me are the people of this state. 

‘That’s what drives me and keeps me going’.

A shock new poll shows the stark challenge facing Ms Palaszczuk as she returns to work.

The recent poll from the RedBridge group found Labor’s primary vote sitting at just 26 per cent compared with 41 for the Queensland Liberals.

During Ms Palaszczuk’s Italian getaway, Acting Premier Steven Miles held a cabinet meeting without her and said he had not spoken to the Premier during her holiday.

This marked the first time cabinet had gone ahead without Ms Palaszczuk in six years, according to a report in The Courier Mail, sparking speculation of an impending leadership change.

Mr Miles publicly backed the Premier, insisting he and his fellow Labor MPs were fully behind her.

‘No one has worked harder for Queenslanders than the Premier,’ he wrote on Facebook during Ms Palaszczuk’s holiday.

‘I’ll say it again, the Premier’s doing a great job delivering for Queenslanders and she has our full support.’

The Courier Mail also reported MPs had expressed concern over Ms Palaszczuk’s leadership in recent weeks, although none have been willing to go public with their comments.

‘I’m looking forward to a big week,’ Ms Palaszczuk told reporters waiting at Brisbane airport on Sunday night, before saying she ‘absolutely’ intended to lead Labor in next year’s state election.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli (pictured) blasted Labor’s ‘chaos and crisis’

Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli took aim at the returning Premier and her party.

‘Our focus is on the issues that matter to Queenslanders, while the state Labor government is obsessed with its own chaos and crisis,’ Mr Crisafulli wrote on social media on Sunday.

Queenslanders are due to head to the polls in October 2024, with Ms Palaszczuk attempting to win a fourth consecutive term in office.