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Jacinda Ardern has dominated the final leaders debate before New Zealand goes to the polls on Saturday, looking confident and as prime minister when she faced a submissive Judith Collins.
In a surprise admission, Ardern said that if she was not re-elected, she would resign as the Labor leader.
In a Colmar Brunton poll published an hour before the debate, the Labor Party was 15 points ahead of the opposition National Party, with Ardern as the preferred prime minister.
The poll also showed that the Green Party is 8%, which means it would be in a position to form a coalition government with Labor and run one of its own MPs for deputy prime minister, be it James Shaw or Marama Davidson.
Collins has had a rough week in the campaign and has drawn criticism for controversial comments, including the fact that obese people should take more personal responsibility for their weight.
In contrast, Ardern has drawn adoring crowds. When asked by the moderator, Jessica Mutch-McKay, if her government had been “transformative,” Ardern said yes, but she needed more time to change the status quo and repair decades of neglect in housing, transportation and the environment. .
During a lengthy discussion, both Ardern and Collins said they would commit to halving child poverty by 2030. New Zealand has one of the worst rates of child poverty and child mortality in the developed world.
Ardern said his government had made progress on entrenched poverty by increasing benefits for the underprivileged, expanding its school lunch programs and raising the minimum wage.
When asked what made them stand out as leaders, Collins and Ardern gave markedly different answers.
Ardern responded: “We are in this job by privilege and not by right. I never take this job for granted; you can always be sure that I will give it my all. “
Collins cited her 20 years as an attorney, her business acumen and her experience leading companies.
Collins accused the Ardern government of repeatedly breaking promises to voters, including promises to reduce child poverty and build 100,000 affordable homes.
This statement angered Ardern, who said she was not a liar and objected to being labeled as such, criticizing Collins for causing “mischief” and spreading “misinformation.”
The Green Party has said it will insist on implementing a wealth tax with whoever it forms a coalition. Both leaders, however, ruled out accepting a wealth tax.
On the climate emergency, Ardern said the issue should be framed as “an opportunity” rather than a crisis. Collins, however, said that farmers were being scapegoated and blamed for climate collapse when other, larger nations should take greater responsibility.
Mutch-McKay said it was unusual to have an election with two female leaders, and Ardern said it was important that the parliament be representative of New Zealand, including Maori, women and the Pasifika people.
Collins said that while he wanted women in leadership positions, he thought people should be promoted on merit.
When asked if they had anything to say to each other, Ardern thanked Collins for his “moving and heartfelt” speech after the Christchurch mosque shootings in March last year and his action on gun control.
Collins thanked Ardern for giving “his heart and soul” to the job of prime minister, saying he knew the effort, the time and the cost it could take. Collins admitted that while she enjoyed the campaign, she missed dining with her husband and son.
Ardern said that whether or not he stayed in politics after the elections, he wanted to reform politics to stop confusion and elitism.
Political commentators say Ardern’s competent handling of the Covid-19 crisis has earned him the trust of New Zealanders, many of whom do not want a change of leadership with so much uncertainty that the pandemic has already brought.
New Zealand operates under the mixed member proportional electoral system, which is designed to install coalition governments. But for the first time since the system was introduced in 1996, Labor can get the numbers on Saturday to rule alone.
