Bridges v Muller ‘Meh’ say voters
‘Battle of the Bay’ sees support for National Party leadership change, but voters are hardly hot on alternative
While National Party politicians remain tight-lipped on today’s party leadership challenge, Joe Public from the contenders’ city of Tauranga have offered candid, but largely ambivalent views on the hopefuls.
The stage is set for a leadership showdown after an email was sent from challenger Todd Muller on Wednesday following a disastrous Newshub/ Reid Research poll showing National’s support plummet .
Bay of Plenty MP Muller said the party could not win with incumbent Simon Bridges in charge and called for a leadership change.
While Muller may be relatively unknown across New Zealand, he has strong recognition in Tauranga, along with the city’s MP, Bridges.
Regardless, National’s support has plummeted to 29 per cent according to last night’s One News/Colmar Brunton poll, equating to just 41 seats. It’s National’s lowest performance in the poll in 15 years.
Labour polled 59 per cent, up 12 points, for 79 seats.
Bridges polled 5 per cent as preferred prime minister, but that’s ahead of Muller who scored just
0.2 per cent.
The previous One News/ Colmar Brunton poll, taken in February, had National well ahead of Labour at 46 per cent to
41 per cent.
The poll is the last piece of the puzzle National MPs will receive before they head to their caucus room today to decide whether or not Bridges will lead them into the 2020 election.
Voters in both MPs’ stomping ground spoken to by Stuff yesterday, conjured a general sense of ‘‘meh’’ when asked about the leadership challenge.
However most leaned in favour of Muller, who received about 80 per cent support from the small sample size.
The indifferent attitude was reflected often with several variations of ‘‘Anybody other than Simon’’, but that did not mean they supported Muller either.
It seemed National supporters wanted a change, any change.
‘‘Muller can’t be any worse than what’s there now,’’ one person said. ‘‘I’ve voted National my whole life.’’
Another added, ‘‘Simon’s a great guy but not a good politician.’’
There was a marked dissent about Bridges’ response to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s Covid-19 approach as being overly negative.
‘‘Sometimes you have to be nice to people who are doing the best they can,’’ one staunch National voter said.
Bridges’ quips aimed at Ardern’s hair were a low point, they said.
Bridges did gain support from some who did not think Muller was ‘‘leadership material’’.
Muller’s running mate, Auckland Central MP Nikki Kaye, was a better choice than either candidate, some opined.
Waikato National MPs opted for stoic silence as the stoush plays out.
Coromandel National MP Scott Simpson said: ‘‘. . . one of the things I have learned over the years is that Caucus matters are matters I will only discuss with my caucus colleagues.’’
National’s Hamilton East MP David Bennett declined to comment, saying people will ‘‘find out tomorrow’’.
Bennett also declined to comment when asked about an email obtained by Newshub from a constituent saying: ‘‘Time to roll Simon. Landslide loss in September otherwise’’, to which Bennett replied, ‘‘Yeah working on it.’’
Waikato MP Tim van de Molen said conversations around leadership would be kept internal and his focus was working to get the local economy back up and running.
The Hamilton West MP, National’s Tim Macindoe, was contacted but did not respond.
High-profile Tauranga businessman Sir Paul Adams did not throw support behind either candidate.
‘‘I like both, and they are both good politicians,’’ he said.
One National MP, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said National’s strength had always been its unity and they expected the caucus to ‘‘hold the line’’ behind Bridges.
‘‘If you have a problem, go into Simon’s office and speak up, or speak up in caucus,’’ the MP said.
The MP said Muller was a ‘‘pale, stale male’’ and would not have any chance of taking on the leadership after the election as either Bridges would win and be prime minister or would resign and be replaced by newcomer Chris Luxon.
Bridges was confident he could see off the challenge.
He did not anticipate having to resign ahead of the meeting and had no ‘‘plan B’’.
It was a ‘‘great distraction’’ for the party, and he wanted to resolve it quickly.
Nikki Kaye has refused to confirm that she is Todd Muller’s running mate as he attempts to oust Simon Bridges as National Party leader.
The Auckland Central MP was tight-lipped yesterday morning when approached by Stuff as she left her Ponsonby home, bound for the airport and a flight to Wellington ahead of today’s leadership vote.
But she acknowledged it had been a big morning.
‘‘Yes, very busy.’’ Muller wrote to National MPs on Wednesday laying out the case for his taking over the party leadership, arguing the party could not win under Simon Bridges.
Early yesterday morning as he arrived at Wellington Airport,
Muller, the Bay of Plenty MP, did not confirm or deny Kaye was his running mate, though the fact is widely acknowledged within caucus.
Kaye followed his lead when questioned by Stuff while walking to a taxi, saying she would not comment out of respect for her colleagues. ‘‘What New Zealand needs is a very strong National Party.’’
She also refused to be drawn on her feelings ahead of the leadership vote, set to be a pivotal moment in her political career.
‘‘My intention is to not make further comment just out of respect for my colleagues who need to ensure the process is able to run.’’
Todd Muller said he was talking to other National MPs one-on-one as he arrived in the capital yesterday ahead of today’s coup attempt.
Muller wrote to MPs on Wednesday evening laying out why he thought he should take over the leadership of the National Party from Simon Bridges, arguing the party could not win with Bridges as leader.
Arriving in Wellington on the first flight from Auckland, Muller was tight-lipped.
Asked what his message for his caucus was, Muller said ‘‘that will be a message that I talk to them directly’’.
‘‘I’m very much focused on conversations with them individually and that’s what I’ll continue to do through till tomorrow.’’
Asked if Auckland Central MP Nikki Kaye was his running mate – which is widely acknowledged within the caucus – Muller demurred.
‘‘All conversations about leadership should stay within caucus and that’s where they will be,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ll see the outcome of our caucus deliberations tomorrow.’’
In his letter to his colleagues on Wednesday Muller said it was essential that National win the September election or the results would be catastrophic for ‘‘two generations’’.
The attempt comes after a devastating poll from Newshub/Reid Research put National at just 30.6 per cent, 26 points behind Labour and well out of contention for Government, with up to 16 MPs losing their jobs.
Speaking to Breakfast yesterday morning, deputy leader Paula Bennett said she was feeling confident, but would not talk about how many colleagues backed her and Bridges.
‘‘We’ve got an interesting 36 hours ahead of us. I wish we weren’t doing it because I think there’s more important things we could be doing.
‘‘But by Friday afternoon we’ll be back out there as a team.’’