The shine comes off Saint Jacinda’s halo

Cast your mind back to 2020. Back then, in the dark days of Covid, a ray of light was apparently offered in the form of New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern. Here, we were told, was the shining beacon of hope, the solution to all our ails. A ‘zero Covid’ approach and a total national lockdown; closed borders and open hearts. Across the country Guardianistas gushed praise and oozed platitudes: here, at last, was the ideal model of a sensible, liberal, centrist leader.

Most popular

Ross Clark

The Waspi women don’t deserve compensation

Fast forward two years and all that has now changed. First Ardern managed to irritate both right and left with her clampdown on immigration and complacency on China. Then she was forced to admit what many others have been scared to say: that her Covid restrictions meant the emergence of a de facto two-tier society. Her country’s vaccine rollout languished behind the rest of the world as parts of the country went in and out of constant lockdowns. International travel was only resumed at the end of last month, with inflation near 8 per cent. And now, after constant rows about vaccine mandates and ‘Fortress New Zealand,’ Ardern’s poll ratings have dropped to her lowest ever level.

A new poll by Kantar and TVNZ shows that, ahead of next year’s election, Ardern’s Labor party are now facing a tough fight to remain in power. The National party, the main opposition, got 37 per cent support with Labor on 33 per cent – its lowest level since 2017 when the incumbent PM took office. National have led most polls in recent months, with one pollster claiming that it’s ‘more likely than not’ Ardern will be voted out at the next election. How far it all seems from 2020 when she won a whopping 48 per cent of the vote and became the most successful premier under the existing electoral system.

Looks like Saint Jacinda better start saying those prayers…