WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s governing National Party has seen its lead narrow in a key opinion poll just four days from a general election.
National rose one point to 30 per cent from 29 per cent last week, according to the 1News Verian poll published Tuesday. The main opposition center-left Labour Party rose two points to 29 per cent.
The result will be a fresh worry for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who is seeking a second term at the Nov. 7 ballot, but has been hampered by a sluggish economy and cost-of-living pressures that have hit household incomes. Labour leader Chris Hipkins has struggled to persuade people that he offers a compelling alternative.
Almost all polls have the two main parties neck-and-neck, suggesting the election remains too close to call and the next government will feature a mix of parties in a coalition. The emerging pattern is that the two largest parties attract less than 60 per cent support between them as support flows to smaller parties.
National currently governs in a coalition with New Zealand First and the ACT Party. Backing for New Zealand First dropping to eight per cent, while ACT slipped to 10 per cent, today’s poll showed.
That means that based on the distribution of votes in the poll, the existing center-right coalition could not hold a majority in parliament.
On the left, the Green Party improved one point to 16 per cent support, meaning the Labour-led bloc’s pathway to power will require it to partner with both Te Pāti Māori and the Opportunity Party.
Opportunity has never entered parliament, having failed to reach the five per cent threshold at previous elections. It polled six per cent in today’s poll unchanged from a week ago, raising the prospect that it may play a kingmaker role in determining the next government. - Bloomberg
