New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s grip on power continues to slip with the latest indicators flagging her Labour government may be ousted in the upcoming election.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s grip on power continues to slip with the latest indicators flagging her Labour government may be ousted in the upcoming election.
The country, which has seen a wave of anti-government protests as the cost of living crisis continues to wreak havoc, will vote in 2023 with a new Kantar poll confirming Labour as underdogs.
In more bad news for Ardern, Labour is also dealing with internal chaos with rogue MP DR Gaurav Sharma accusing Labour of rampant bullying and gaslighting within Parliament.
Sharma, the party’s Hamilton West MP, went public with claims of bullying, misspending of taxpayer funds and other dirty laundry in an explosive 2,624-word Facebook post.
More below the fold.
Jacinda Ardern blasted as New Zealanders are forced to sleep in their cars
Rebel News
A former NZ Deputy Prime Minister has slammed “kind” Labour’s performance as the cost of living crisis grips the nation
Former New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has slammed the NZ government after a shock report revealed the extent of the nation’s cost of living crisis.
Latest figures showed that hundreds of New Zealanders were suffering through a freezing Winter living in their cars with those on the ground describing the conditions as ‘heart-breaking’.
“The latest figures show there are now around five times the number of people living in cars than there were before Labour was in government. How can the ‘be kind’ Labour Party explain that?,” Peters, now leader of the New Zealand First party, posted on social media.
“With most in the media being distracted by a friendly narrative surrounding the current government, New Zealand is quickly turning into a place we only thought existed in other parts of this world.”
At the end of 2017, NZ Ministry of Social Development records showed 108 Kiwis reported living in cars but latest figures show that number has blown out to 480.
Last month a 72-year-old woman died while living in her car on an Auckland suburban street in freezing conditions.
The New Zealand Herald reported:
She and her vehicle were so well kept that neighbours only realised she was living inside it when they spotted her wiping the car’s windows from the inside because of the condensation that had built up.
The Auckland City Mission, which typically gets about 15 calls a month saying people are sleeping in cars or rough, says that number has now jumped to about 15 calls a week.
The cost of living crisis has especially hit New Zealand hard after it spent over two years pursuing a Covid-19 elimination strategy and harsh lockdowns which divided the nation while Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern enjoyed global adoration from the mainstream media.
However, latest polling figures show Ardern’s approval has tanked to its lowest rating since her Labour team took office in 2017.
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It is reported Labour will hold a special caucus meeting this week to discuss the claims.
Last week, it was revealed that Ardern’s popularity has tanked to just 30 per cent as preferred PM, marking her worst approval rating since coming into office in 2017, with at least one pollster predicting she will be dumped at the next election.
The Daily Mail reported:
David Farrar, a leading political pollster who works as a consultant for the National Party, says he believes it’s ‘more likely than not’ Ms Ardern will be voted out at the next federal election.
“The National Party has led most polls in the last few months. It’s going to be very close, but I’d say it’s more likely than unlikely there’s a change in government,” he said.
“She’s an excellent communicator. Hundreds of thousands were watching her daily press conferences.
“People were nervous but loved seeing her in control. It was almost unsafe to criticise her.”
Ardern’s Zero-Covid strategy kick-started the government’s fall from grace with New Zealanders weary after two years of oppressive lockdown conditions which saw the nation isolated and left behind as the rest of the world learned to live with Covid-19.
While the stategy had initial success and was widely-praised in the global media for eliminating cases in the first wave of the pandemic, New Zealand was left locked down and languishing behind as the ecomony and social order suffered.
Earlier this year, Ardern’s harsh governance sparked a wave of protests as freedom campaigners set up camp on parliament grounds in Wellington demanding an end to tyrnaical restrictions.
Large-scale protests have grown since with thousands of Kiwis joining in anti-government marches in cities around the country.
Ardern’s soft stance on China has also come under fire as Beijing continues to cause friction among pacific nations and escalates agression against Taiwan.
Ardern dismissed her decline in the polls as a ‘reflection of the times’.
“There’s absolutely no doubt increases in inflation are hurting New Zealanders. We have a responsibility as government to do what we can to support them through,” she said.
“New Zealand has advantage as well. I do look to those causes of optimism – low unemployment, low relative debt and the fact that we have our borders, tourism coming back. Those things will give a boost.“
Last week the NZ media reported that hundreds of New Zealanders were suffering through a freezing Winter living in their cars with those on the ground describing the conditions as ‘heart-breaking’.
In July, a 72-year-old woman died while living in her car on an Auckland suburban street in freezing conditions.
More anti-government protests are planned in coming weeks as the nation’s cost of living pressures and soaring inflation continue to hit Kiwis hard.