Approval ratings fluctuate...

[Magoo]

Mr luxon the nat helmsman seems to have garnered some approval in the latest round of polling stats.
not votes mind, approval.
Ms ardern has slipped back. there was no way she was ever going to maintain the head of steam she had pre covid and built up during, covid has worked for labour the last couple of years, but only delaying the inevitable.

Pre covid labour was at a watershed of failure. housing, crime, cancelled infrastructure, ineptitude and bumbling.
they are still the same party they were when they got into power. A dogs breakfast. phil twyford probably sums it up.
hopeless. 

we were lucky to have labour in power when covid kicked off. the nats dont do empathy all that well.

i think that as covid fades, or we become accustomed to it, we are going to start looking at fiscal governance as a priority. labour dont do fiscal well.

this is the beginning of that shift.


https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politic...he-country

[Praktica]

I note that a lot of people don't know who Luxon is, so his approval rating is from old rich guys, mainly, and he has done nothing, so nothing to disapprove of.

[Olive]

I think it is absurd to compare approval ratings of how well a Prime Minister and a Leader of the Opposition are doing their respective jobs. Their jobs are almost completely different. And Luxon is almost completely unknown, whereas the PM is extremely high profile and has been the target of a huge amount of vitriolic and groundless abuse.

[Magoo]

I note that a lot of people don't know who Luxon is, so his approval rating is from old rich guys, mainly, and he has done nothing, so nothing to disapprove of.

i think it would take more than a few old guys to influence approval ratings
and we all know you dont have to 'do' anything to be PM, ask ms ardern.

i think luxon knows that all he has to do is sit tight, its not what he does or doesnt do that matters, its what the government does and doesnt do that influences votes.

being neither left nor right means i get an unsullied opinion based purely on performance.  
i have no predisposition, and no expectation of either side. and whichever side wins is of no consequence to me.

[king1]

on the subject of labour dont do fiscal well - i came across this yesterday...
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politic...not-really

[Magoo]

I think it is absurd to compare approval ratings of how well a Prime Minister and a Leader of the Opposition are doing their respective jobs.  Their jobs are almost completely different.  And Luxon is almost completely unknown, whereas the PM is extremely high profile and has been the target of a huge amount of vitriolic and groundless abuse.

we all know where the vitriol and abuse was sourced.
some people are just too thick to understand she is the figurehead of a party, not a dictator.
she doesnt make the policy, the rules or the decisions. (except oil and gas apparently), she leads those that do.
the response is not her doing, and whether we win or lose is not down to her.

that said, you win an election on the back of covid you will have to face the wrath of the public if it goes south.
being the poster girl for one side is always going to attract the venom of the other.

---

on the subject of  labour dont do fiscal well - i came across this yesterday...
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politic...not-really

granted, but if you look at many of those graphs, they either start at 2008, or finish at 2008
of course those are the periods in which each side is in power, but something happened in 2008 that threw the whole world into a tailspin. GFC.
do the graphs and statistics allow for that? or are we comparing two different playing fields?

[Lilith7]

I think it is absurd to compare approval ratings of how well a Prime Minister and a Leader of the Opposition are doing their respective jobs.  Their jobs are almost completely different.  And Luxon is almost completely unknown, whereas the PM is extremely high profile and has been the target of a huge amount of vitriolic and groundless abuse.

To be fair I think its safe to say that any govt, left or right, would have struggled with covid because its new territory so very much 'learn as you go'

But its also true that some have huge problems with women leaders, & especially when its  a left party she's leading. And that at this stage, not so much is known about Luxon.

[Wainuiguy]

I think it is absurd to compare approval ratings of how well a Prime Minister and a Leader of the Opposition are doing their respective jobs.  Their jobs are almost completely different.  And Luxon is almost completely unknown, whereas the PM is extremely high profile and has been the target of a huge amount of vitriolic and groundless abuse.

Lol bet if I dug into threads here we would find certain posters crowing about her approval rating previously compared to Collins.

[Praktica]

I think it is absurd to compare approval ratings of how well a Prime Minister and a Leader of the Opposition are doing their respective jobs.  Their jobs are almost completely different.  And Luxon is almost completely unknown, whereas the PM is extremely high profile and has been the target of a huge amount of vitriolic and groundless abuse.

Lol bet if I dug into threads here we would find certain posters crowing about her approval rating previously compared to Collins.

Go ahead.

[yousnoozeyoulose]

Luxon correcting the carnage caused by his predecessor - a woman who has seemingly dropped off the face of the earth.

He could have made those numbers even better if he'd dealt to Hipango but he gone's with the limp response. His political inexperience showing... if only he'd been a career politician!

Anyway, approval ratings will always favour the newbie, because that's how they work. Kinda similar to the preferred PM numbers in that they don't really tell you anything.

[king1]

Lol bet if I dug into threads here we would find certain posters crowing about her approval rating previously compared to Collins.

Go ahead.

How long you think that will keep him distracted?

[SueDonim]

I think it is absurd to compare approval ratings of how well a Prime Minister and a Leader of the Opposition are doing their respective jobs.  Their jobs are almost completely different.  And Luxon is almost completely unknown, whereas the PM is extremely high profile and has been the target of a huge amount of vitriolic and groundless abuse.

we all know where the vitriol and abuse was sourced.
some people are just too thick to understand she is the figurehead of a party, not a dictator.
she doesnt make the policy, the rules or the decisions. (except oil and gas apparently), she leads those that do.
the response is not her doing, and whether we win or lose is not down to her.

that said, you win an election on the back of covid you will have to face the wrath of the public if it goes south.
being the poster girl for one side is always going to attract the venom of the other.

---

Their jobs are actually opposites. The opposition's job is to oppose, something I've noticed that National has had trouble understanding at times. The ACT leader "gets" it, but then sometimes goes to idiotic extremes in trying to oppose the wrong things.

And Magoo is right that people are misunderstanding the process, even though every public announcement is "Cabinet has decided....". Cabinet is far more than just its leader. Some time ago I wished that the decisions could be debated properly as they were made, but I can also see that that isn't practical in the short time frames dictated by how fast the pandemic changes everything day to day.

[Magoo]

the opposition lacks 'mongrel' imo

[yousnoozeyoulose]

I'm sure Nicola Willis would eat a small child if pressed.

[Lilith7]

I'm sure Nicola Willis would eat a small child if pressed.

She reminds me quite a lot of Ruth Richardson, so that's got to be a strong possibility.