New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern has become the most popular prime minister of the country in a century, as per a poll conducted by Newshub-Reid Research.
The surge in her approval rating has been due to her coronavirus response that has made the country most successful in containing the spread.
The public polls were conducted for the first time since coronavirus hit the country.
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According to the polls, Ardern’s Labour party saw a jump of 14 points to 56.5 per cent. This is the highest for any party ever, whereas, Nationals, despite being the biggest party in the parliament saw a fall of 12.7 points to 30.6 per cent.
Conversely, the biggest party in parliament – the Nationals, slumped to 30.6%, after sliding by 12.7 points.
The poll was conducted between May 8 and May 16, with half of the responses taken after the federal budget on Thursday.
As preferred PM, Ardern was at 59.5%, up 20.8 points on the last poll and the highest score for any leader in the Reid Research poll’s history.
The poll took into account public sentiment in the final days of the country’s strict level three lockdown, which also got massive support with almost 92% respondents saying it was the right call.
The Pacific nation was locked down for more than a month under “level 4” restrictions that were eased by a notch in late April. It has continued to enforce strict social measures on many of its citizens and businesses, helping prevent widespread community spread of the virus.
Businesses in the country including malls, cinemas, cafes and gyms reopened last Thursday.
New Zealand is nearing a victory against coronavirus after seeing a sharp decrease in cases. The country has a total of 1,499 cases and over 21 deaths as compared to the global toll of 4.7 million cases and 315,000 deaths.
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