Christopher Luxon is really living in cloud-cuckoo land. The poll numbers are so obvious that even Blind Freddy can see them. Christopher Luxon’s degrading personal popularity is hurting National’s chances. But he is adamant that they aren’t.
National’s Christopher Luxon denies his leadership is holding his party back in the polls and says he’s confident he will win Kiwis over before the October 14 election.
The latest Newshub-Reid Research poll was released on Sunday night, showing Labour and National neck and neck. Labour was down 2.1 points to 35.9 percent, while National was down 1.3 points to 35.3 percent.
Prior to Luxon taking the leadership in November 2021, National was polling in the mid-20s. The party jumped after he took the top job, reaching 40.7 percent in the Newshub-Reid Research poll in November. But since then, National has slid back down into the mid-30s with Labour.
Meanwhile, Luxon’s preferred Prime Minister rankings have gone south in the latest poll. He was the preferred Prime Minister of 16.4 percent of voters, down 2.4 points, compared to Labour leader Chris Hipkins’ 23.4 percent, up 3.8 points.
Luxon is seen as out of touch by 47 percent of New Zealanders, while Hipkins is seen as out of touch by 35.6 percent, the results reveal.
The poll results also show 35.5 percent of New Zealanders believe Luxon is performing well and 34.7 percent believe he is performing poorly. That compares to 55.6 percent of voters thinking Hipkins is performing well and 18.2 percent thinking he is performing poorly.
Asked on Monday whether his leadership was holding National back from doing better, Luxon responded: “Absolutely not”.
“We have got a lot of work to do over the next five months, but we’re making our case to the New Zealand people. I think we’ve been coming forward with really practical ideas about how we can govern after October 14 and I’m really looking forward to doing that over the next five months.”
Newshub
He can deny it all he likes but the polls say something different. Only a fool would ignore the polls, yet it appears that not only is Christopher Luxon a fool but so are the blinkered two ticks blue folks who are hoping and praying that the polls are wrong.
They aren’t wrong. Luxon thinks that they’re making their case and people are listening and liking them, except the numbers don’t show it.
The polls are actually showing that the more people see Christopher Luxon the less they like him, particularly women.
Olivia Pierson said it on Reality Check Radio on Friday. He’s a pussy. If you ask women about Luxon they almost universally say he is creepy, slimy, fake, insincere and something isn’t right about him. They are right. The face and the words don’t match; their gut feel is right.
While we are talking about polls, the two ticks blue people really rip my undies. The problem with ticks is they latch on and start draining blood from you and become fat, bloated and lazy until you squash them. That is what is happening. National are sleep walking to victory thinking that shouting “two ticks blue” will get them over the line.
They are wrong. The polls show it. If National hasn’t made the case five months out from a general election then they really aren’t going to make a case, are they?
This Labour Government is the worst government ever when it comes to delivery. The only things they’ve delivered are press statements, announcements and a mountain of debt. They’ve destroyed health, created a crime wave, tanked the economy, watched rents increase quicker than ever before. They’ve destroyed house values, wrecked businesses, livelihoods, social cohesion, and created division and hatred. The opposition should be miles in front, hitting the government over and over again on their failed policies. But they aren’t.
That’s on Luxon. He’s the boss. He’s responsible.
His problem is he thinks and acts like a CEO; he’s tone-deaf, arrogant, and out of touch, and the electorate knows it. His response to legitimate questions about his leadership shows that once again he is thinking like a CEO. He is not a people person. Take yesterday’s interview on Stuff Live – talking to the Auckland Business Chamber’s Simon Bridges, he talked and talked and talked – no short answers. He used so many words that in the end I just turned it off. He’s a boring, dry nondescript man. That’s not his fault. It’s just a fact. You could listen if he was saying something worthwhile. He needs someone to coach him on creating pithy soundbites and engaging people.
Basically, even with the numbers staring him in the face, he either can’t read the room, is delusional or just doesn’t care.
If he keeps on going the way he is New Zealand will be lost, or someone else will fill the leadership vacuum.
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