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The National Government has continued to ride the wave of popularity that saw it elected.
Nine months on, Prime Minister John Key is leading the popularity contest receiving 51% of the votes for preferred prime minister in a ONE News Colmar Brunton poll released on Sunday.
Labour leader Phil Goff has barely troubled the pollsters
at 7% support, not much more than Helen Clark (3%) who is
not even in the country let alone in New Zealand politics
anymore.
As a party, National is on 56%, Labour is miles behind on 31%, the
Greens are in third place on seven percent and the Maori Party has
just over 3% support.
New Zealand First isn't in parliament but has more support than Act.
Translating those numbers to seats in parliament would give National 69 seats, Labour 37 seats and the Green Party eight seats.
Assuming electorate seats are held, the Maori Party has five
seats and United Future, Act and the Progressive one seat
each.
READ THE FULL POLL RESULTS
But despite the results it has been a harsh winter for
National.
There was a bitter Budget from Finance Minister Bill English who
said that in the next three years, the economy would be $50 billion
smaller than was forecast in Budget 2008.
Richard Worth was sacked in a sex scandal and Labour thumped
National in the Mt Albert by-election.
The Foreshore and Seabed issue washed up on the government's door step yet again opening the door to an old foe.
"They are arguing something separatist and if that's the way that New Zealand is to go then our future towards the third world is certain," Winston Peters said on his return to the New Zealand political scene.
The number one issue for the country has been the economy and people now are much more optimistic.
Sixty percent believed it would get better in the next year, 18% said it would stay the same and two percent thought it would get worse.
The poll questioned 1000 voters and had a margin of error of 3.1%.
