Jacinda Ardern’s 2023 Election Prospects Dim as New Zealand Recession Looms
- Ruling Labour Party suffers by-election loss as support wanes
- Voters focus on crime wave, inflation, surging mortgage rates
Jacinda Ardern
Photographer: Mark Coote/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern faces an uphill battle to win a third term next year as interest rates surge, a recession looms and her administration struggles to convince voters that it’s coping with a crime wave.
Ardern’s Labour Party lost to the opposition National Party in a by-election over the weekend, adding to signs that support for the government is waning. With a general election less than a year away, Labour ends 2022 trailing National in the polls.