National’s honeymoon continues, according to poll

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Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:00a.m.

Prime Minister John Key

Prime Minister John Key

John Key has been having a gay old time as Prime Minister, and is living proof that white men really can't dance.

But voters still like his moves. At 60 percent in tonight's poll, National's rating is the highest ever recorded by 3News.

Key shrugged off an attack at Waitangi, saying he will go back. It was perhaps the lowest moment of his first 100 days.

So we asked voters what they thought of Key and National's performance over the first three months in Government.

64 percent say it has been strong or very strong.

Just 4 percent say has been weak.

In the crucial leadership traits, 85 percent consider Key a capable leader - that has rocketed up.

75 percent say he would be good in a crisis, up significantly.

And 77 percent back his judgement.

National has been taunting Labour's new leader Phil Goff. Helen Clark is still a more popular option than Goff in this 3News/Reid Research poll, and Goff is struggling for traction.

And while voters overwhelmingly think Key is performing well, Goff is considered less impressive.

And Goff is clearly feeling the pressure and isolation of opposition.

He refused to talk to 3News about the poll today. Clark always did, whether it was good or bad.

But politics is a long fight, and while the tide is in for National, the economic recession will be a huge test for Key's Government.

And Goff will pounce. But he has a problem - no one is taking too much notice of him.

3News

 

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Comments

20 Feb 2009 11:32a.m.

Alex wrote:

"Of course the media will talk about John Key more, he is our PM - get used to it!"

This is very bad reasoning. The people in power should have more opportunity to speak the media because they are in power?

"you are just the typical bigot blaming the media"

You can't be bigoted against the media. Do you know what the word means?

And when a reporter goes around asking people "should the party with the most votes be the government" (given our MMP system) it's really hard to deny bias. Also the media isn't questioning the figure of $9 billion worth of stimulus when most of that $9 billion is spending that was going to occur anyway regardless of the recession. The Nats are accelerating spending but they're not increasing it by much despite all the spin.

It's also barely reported that the poorer half of the country had a tax cut taken off them by the Nats so the richer half could have a bigger one. The tax cuts on the first of April are going to look like an April fools joke to all the people who are giving up tax cuts for people better off than them.

Maybe National's just better at handling the media than Labour, but if that's the case it's a bad sign that the media is just taking what they say at face value. It's not their fault, though - journalists are losing jobs because people are getting their news for free online. So they've got fewer resources which will obviously lead to over reliance on press releases and PR.

20 Feb 2009 08:04a.m.

homer wrote:

My goodness Deane, you love a good rant about nothing. Phil Goff is not really that liked and in my opinion not suited to be the Labour leader. Perhaps if he had something more interesting to say the media might have more to do with him. Of course the media will talk about John Key more, he is our PM - get used to it!

P.S. your spelling is atrocious.

19 Feb 2009 10:42p.m.

Alien wrote:

you also miss deane all the stories run over xmas with goff in them, oh no, you didn't miss them, you are just the typical bigot blaming the media

19 Feb 2009 01:54p.m.

Alien wrote:

yawn, of course blame the media. When they asked Goff to appear on camera her refused last night, not is's always the media to blame with people like yourself. one person and only one person is to blame for Goff not being in the media, and that is Goff.

19 Feb 2009 12:43p.m.

Deane, HAMILTON wrote:

This does not surprise me at all. For the simple reason that the Media does not publish any press release or comments made by Phill Geof.

Any appearance he makes is so brief you miss it with a blink.

The other point I want to make is that every time I hear radio network, we hear radio celebraties contineously supporting Key and telling us how good he was. For example Bunting in the morning endorsing Key, and a Solid Gold FM presenter saying he should be made Kiwi of the year.

radio and TV have in effect turned John Key into a celebraty, yet his governments policies are lame, lack planning,lack initiative.

During the first few weeks over Christmass period, I was expecting the new government roll in blazing with emergency conferences with employers, unions and government officials to get a handle on the greatest crisis that we have had since WWII. No instead we have it late this month with no clear direction.

Frankly it is a disgrace, and I think in the long term the media has a lot to answer for.