In the 1News Kantar Public poll, 46 percent of voters approved of Luxon’s way of doing his job — up from 42 percent in January — but the number who disapproved of it had risen from 20 percent to 31 percent over the same period.
That meant his net approval rate (the difference between those who approved and rejected) fell from January 22 to 15 and is now equal to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s.
However, that’s the lowest net rating Ardern has had since October 2019 – her approval scores are well below the highs she saw during the Covid-19 response in 2020 and have fallen steadily since.
Fifty-three percent approved Ardern’s performance as prime minister, close to her January 52 percent result. The number who disapproved of her performance had risen slightly to 38 percent — a higher disapproval score than Luxon’s.
Only nine percent gave no view of Ardern. While her approval levels are still high, the plateau indicates that she is returning to the international stage and that the decision to abolish almost all Covid-19 restrictions at home has not offset the harsh winter plague.
The polling station noted that 37 percent of people had not expressed an opinion about Luxon in January, nearly two months after he became leader. That number had dropped to 23 percent when people drew their conclusions, but “the negative sentiment toward him has increased faster than the positive.”
Asked if it was those people who decided against him, Luxon said he was still new to politics and was up against “career politician” Ardern.
“I’m new, I’m up against a 14-year-old career politician and I have a big, long job interview ahead of me next year. I’m doing my job, which is leading and preparing a team for the government.”
Ardern attributed that to the “tough times” New Zealand had been through, but hoped for more “optimistic” times.
“It’s been a rough couple of years but I’m confident we’ve kept the support at the level we have and so have I personally, given how tough it’s been.”
The poll found that men were more likely to approve of Luxon than women — 54 percent of men said they approved of his performance.
Luxon said he was generally satisfied with the poll, which put National at 37 percent and was able to form a government with law — but only just barely.
He said the progress since he took over has been “really incredible.”
“We’ve brought the team together, that’s what I have to do as a leader, make sure we build a team that can change the country and get into government.”
Luxon has committed several verbal gaffes in his role and has struggled with bullying allegations by his new MP Sam Uffindell, who was recently reinstated in the caucus after a report by Maria Dew KC found that claims about him in college could not be substantiated.
The poll of 1001 eligible voters was conducted from September 17 to 21 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent.