We all know that Simon Bridges is terribly unpopular. In fact his preferred PM rating usually doesn’t register into the double digits.Bridges copying Trump like catch phrases and an inability to read his lines properly means that National is getting widely criticised across nearly every social media platform, even by people who were previous true-blue National Party supporters.
Speculation is therefore rife about whether Bridges will be rolled prior to the election, which in normal circumstances wouldn’t be a good idea. However Bridges inability to gauge the mood of the nation has ensured that these rumours persist, particularly because a recently leaked Curia poll puts National on only 31%.
Last Wednesday, David Cormack reported:
Leaked Curia poll pretty terrible sign for National
Labour was on 49 - no surprise given the Prime Minister's excellent handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
National was on 31 - which is absolute crisis territory. If this plays out in September then National would lost 18 MPs and go down to 37.
Clearly these results aren’t just about Jacinda Ardern’s excellent communication skills and exemplary management of government agencies during the COVID-19 lockdown, it’s also attributed to the fact that Simon Bridges has been a walking talking disaster zone.
Today, Newshub reported:
The AM Show poll results: Who should lead the National Party?
At 10:45am, after the poll was active for roughly five hours and had received more than 13,500 votes, Collins was supported by 39 percent of participants (5233 votes), followed by Mitchell on 30 percent (4042 votes), Bennett on 16 percent (2261 votes) and Bridges on 15 percent (2033 votes).
I should mention that Bridges didn’t actually win the initial National Party caucus vote when they chose a replacement for Bill English. So his woeful performance as party leader isn’t the only reason for his unpopularity.
However to attain only 15% of votes in an online Newshub poll, albeit unscientific, is a clear indication that Bridges is about to be challenged for his position as National Party leader.
Unfortunately for National there’s no clear choice for a replacement. Each of the proposed candidates have excess baggage, which many would argue precludes them from becoming the potential Prime Minister of New Zealand.
But if National does nothing, Simon Bridges could drag them down even further. His determination to engage in entirely negative campaigning during the COVID 19 lockdown will see his approval-rating tank...all of which will likely mean the blue team will be sidelined for a very long time.
