The latest 3 News-Reid Research poll shows Prime Minister John Key has bounced back and, if an election was held today, National could govern alone.
The last poll showed Labour Party leader David Shearer and the left could govern, but Mr Key has seized back the voters he lost as last year went to the pack for him.
National is on 51.4 percent – that’s up 4 percent. That's come off Labour, down two to 32.6 percent. And the Greens are also down two points as well, to 10.8 percent. New Zealand First Party leader Winston Peters is on about 3.4 percent.
Turning now to the minor parties, they are not up to much at all. ACT remain on death watch – only one person out of 1000 is prepared to vote for them. That's better than Hone Harawira and his Mana Party.
In the Parliament, National would have 64 seats – a clear majority, without needing support partners who won electorate seats. Labour, the Greens, and Mr Harawira's electorate seat would only get the left bloc to 56.
In the preferred Prime Minister's stakes, Mr Key is on 41 percent – the same story, a bounce of nearly four points. Mr Shearer is back on 10 percent, and Mr Peters and Green Party co-leader Russel Norman are both well back, but still registering out there.
Mr Key may try to make out it's not, but this poll really is all about him. His performance and National's are intrinsically linked. If he goes up, National goes up, and vice versa.
The majority of the public are clearly not blaming Mr Key for the flat-lining economy and all the job losses out there, which are becoming all too real, or maybe they don't see the Labour-Green bloc as a viable alternative.
Mr Shearer's personal performance has really improved of late, but these numbers will leave the left hurting. Four years on, they still struggle to compete with Brand Key.
And tonight, the Opposition will be left asking themselves: just what do we do about Teflon John?
3 News
source: newshub archive
