But the extreme weather events are also reshaping the landscape of the coming election, seven months away. At the close of 2022, Ardern’s Labour party seemed locked in a gradual but unceasing slide, bogged down by economic woes. Successive polling placed the centre-right National party, along with rightwing partner Act, as the likely winners, in an election dominated by cost-of-living concerns.
“There’s not a lot of hype – there’s not a lot of highfalutin rhetoric in his spoken style,” says Ben Thomas, a staffer for the former National-led government, which led through the. So far, that approach, and the wider priorities of Hipkins’ government, seem to be resonating with New Zealanders. On Thursday, new data showed that Labour had overtaken its primary opposition for the first time in a year. The poll, by Curia Market Research, placed Labour up 1.1 points from last month at 35.