Election 2020: Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins will meet in the debate of the first leaders

It was a terror poll for the National Party that put then-leader Bill English in the rear during the first TVNZ leaders debate three years ago.

A previously lagging Labor had been ahead of National by two points. A housing crisis and high immigration were the focus. The newly appointed Labor leader, Jacinda Ardern, was considered nervous at first, and incumbent Prime Minister English was more aggressive towards the end of the debate.

Since then, there has been a Labor-led coalition government, a global Covid-19 pandemic that has closed the border, and more terror polls for National on three leaders.

The first leaders’ debate for the 2020 elections will take place on TVNZ at 7pm on Tuesday, and a new poll expected to be announced before the debate begins may set the tone again.

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Collins, who has not been proven as a leader in the debating ring, promises to focus on Ardern’s promises. KiwiBuild and the unfinished Auckland light rail project are likely to rank high on the national leader’s list of goals.

“I’ll be there to point out what, all the great promises that have been made in the past, and the incredible lack of follow-through that we’ve seen from the prime minister,” Collins said of the debate in Auckland on Monday.

“I always look forward to debates … What I know is this, that I will do the best I can.”

Collins has a lot more ground to gain for National this time. The party has been hitting lows never seen since 2003, with recent figures ranging from 25.1% to 38% support. The most recent poll, from Labor pollster UMR, had National at 29 percent and Labor at 53 percent.

The fight for popularity has rocked the party in recent months, with former leader Todd Muller eliminating Simon Bridges, who had led the party for most of the term, after support plummeted to 30.9 percent.

Muller’s short-lived leadership gave way to Collins, who has led the game this season.

Collins announced last week what will be a signature policy, a substantial 16-month tax cut aimed at stimulating the Covid-hit economy, something the national leader can be expected to lean heavily on during the debate.

Ardern has called this election the “Covid election” and can be expected to focus on the government’s efforts to combat the pandemic and lift New Zealand out of the economic crisis.

Labor has avoided launching particularly controversial policies, such as the oil and gas ban implemented two years ago, so far this election campaign.

The party has promised to double the country’s sick leave entitlement to 10 days and set a higher tax bracket targeting 2 percent of people who earn more than $ 180,000 a year, which is deemed necessary to maintain funding for the health and education.

On Monday, Ardern said he would prepare for the debate “by going over the issues that I know New Zealanders want to hear from us, while at the same time continuing to manage the campaign.”

“I see the debates as an opportunity for each of us, as leaders, to share our own vision and our own plan, so I spend a little less time thinking about training with the person in front and more in communicating directly what they are. our plans”.

Ardern will enter the TVNZ studio on a solid footing, his popularity rising to new heights after the government blockaded the country to prevent the pandemic.

A second outbreak of the virus has yet to dampen Ardern’s popularity in polls, and it continues to draw crowds when he visits cities across the country.

Previous controversies at government border facilities over testing of returnees and workers appear to have been settled, as the country lowers Covid-19 alert levels this week.