I reported earlier this week how New Zealand voters continue to turn their back on Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Government.
After enjoying record strong voter support in the first half of the pandemic, support has plunged amid cost of living concerns and soaring interest rates:
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Not surprisingly, Inflation / cost of living is the most important issue facing New Zealanders today. After a significant increase in February (53% vs 31% in Oct ‘21).
Concerns around inflation mean housing is now relatively less important as an issue, with only 37% of New Zealanders placing it in their top 3, a significant decline to its lowest level since Sep ‘20 (37%). However, it remains the second-highest issue for New Zealanders.
The next chart shows the changes over time in Kiwi’s top 5 concerns:
The Ardern Government’s performance rating continues to decline after reaching all-time high levels at the peak of the pandemic in 2020. Ratings have now dropped to pre-COVID-19 levels and are similar to those recorded after the 2017 election:
Worse, the opposition National Party is perceived as most capable at solving the Inflation/cost of living and Housing/price of housing problems:
In fact, National is seen as more capable than Labor on most issues of concern to Kiwi.
If Jacinda Ardern doesn’t turn the situation around promptly, she will be booted out of office at next year’s election.
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also Chief Economist and co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.
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