New Zealand PM’s ratings dip as fragile economy fails to impress before November election, poll shows | New Zealand election 2026
New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon’s personal ratings have fallen as his government’s handling of the economy has failed to sway voters ahead of the November election, polls show.
RNZ-Reid Research surveyThe report, published on Monday, found a growing number of people feel New Zealand is heading in the wrong direction.
Luxon fell two points to 17.3% in prime preferred shares; this was his lowest result in major polls since he became leader in 2023. Labour’s Chris Hipkins also fell by 0.4 points to 20.7%.
The Prime Minister’s net favorability (the difference between those who rated his performance as good and poor) also fell from -14 to -20.6 in January; This is his weakest result in the Reid Research series since leading the National in 2021.
Meanwhile, Luxon’s National party remains nearly five points behind the main opposition Labor Party. If the election were held today, the left and right blocs in the parliament would face a hung parliament.
Speaking to RNZ on Monday, Luxon said: “People don’t talk about polls.
“I am currently focused on tackling fuel supply challenges and minimizing impacts on Kiwis.”
The poll, conducted in mid-March amid rising tensions in the Middle East and a global energy crisis, showed support for National falling one point to 30.8%, while coalition partners Act received 7% and New Zealand First 10.6%.
In the left bloc, Labor gained 0.6 points to 35.6 per cent, the Greens got 10.1 per cent and Te Pāti Māori (the Maori party) got 3.2 per cent.
Half of those polled said New Zealand was heading in the wrong direction, up four points since January, while 32.3% thought the country was on the right track.
one second Taxpayers Union Curia survey March saw just 28.4% support for National, triggering questions about Luxon’s leadership and forcing the prime minister to do so. quashed speculation that he would resign.
Polls in 2025 were generally against Luxon and the coalition; This is unusual for a first-term government in New Zealand. If November’s general election reflects the polls, it will be the first time a first-term government has failed to secure a second term since the introduction of the mixed-member proportional parliamentary system in 1993.
The coalition government campaigned on promises to fix New Zealand’s economy, which has been hit by stagnation and stagnation in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, and has introduced a range of policies to ensure that recovery, including loosening immigration rules and reducing public spending to attract foreign investment.
However, the recovery, albeit small, has been slow. The economy grew by just 0.2% in the December quarter; this was weaker than expectations, and war in the Middle East threatens to make progress worse.
Political commentator Ben Thomas said the economy and global conditions were the “biggest drag” on the coalition’s popularity.
“This is the first long-term cost-of-living crisis we’ve had in a long time… It’s going to fall much more evenly on the electorate and therefore have a broader distribution in terms of having a negative impact on voter sentiment.”
Thomas said Luxon lacked the “charisma” of previous prime ministers.
“She doesn’t have the buffer, the personal charisma, that some of her predecessors, John Key and Jacinda Ardern, had,” Thomas said.
“He’s not an extraordinary generational artist in that sense, so his fate is much more directly exposed to what people feel in their back pockets every day.”
