New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern faces lowest rating amid Gauraf Sharma scandal

Ardern once seemed politically invincible.and Last election of 2020, she led Labor to a comfortable majority in Parliament. This is a rare achievement in New Zealand’s proportional government system.

The Labor Party won almost twice as many seats as its biggest rival, the National Party, the equivalent of Australia’s Liberal Party.

Still, the next elections are due by January 2024, and Ardern is now in a position to lose power.

The Ardern government is grappling with some problems common to most Western democracies, such as snowballing inflation and rising interest rates.

On Wednesday, New Zealand’s central bank announced its seventh consecutive rate hike. The country’s official discount rate is now at 3%, the highest since 2015.

“It remains appropriate to continue tightening monetary conditions at a pace that maintains price stability and contributes to maximum sustainable employment,” the central bank said.

“Committee members agreed that monetary conditions should continue to tighten until we are confident that we will have sufficient spending restraint to bring inflation back within our target range of 1-3% per annum.”

We expect cash rates to peak above 4% and remain there through at least 2024.

A change in monetary policy is needed because of rapid inflation in New Zealand, which is now at its highest level in 30 years. The annual inflation rate is 7.3%.

This obviously has a big impact on the cost of living for New Zealanders.

And this is all on the heels of shocking economic results in the first quarter of the fiscal year, when the country’s economy contracted by 0.2%.

These circumstances are partly responsible for the gradual loss of support for both Ardern and her party over the years.

Last September, National was struggling in the primary by about 25% in polls. Both major parties are now hovering in his mid-thirties, with the National slightly ahead.

Taking minority parties into account, conservatives in New Zealand politics are approaching majority support, while progressives remain in their early 40s.

The result is undeniable: if the election is held now, Mr. Ardern will lose.

Her personal rating has also plummeted to its lowest point since winning in 2017. Although she remains a preferred Prime Minister National Leader Christopher Luxon was the former president of Air New Zealand.

But the prime minister’s problems run deeper than the economy. Her government has also been rocked by scandals – most recently from within.

Rebel lawmakers ignite bullying scandal

Newshub aired Thursday night Explosive interview with Labor MP Gauraf Sharma.

Dr. Sharma was suspended from the party earlier this week and now faces expulsion. More on that later. But the story began on his August 11th. he wrote a newspaper column It claims there has been “rampant bullying” in New Zealand’s parliament.

In that column and in his comments in the days that followed, he said two sides of politics were complicit, including himself.

Dr. Sharma also shared a screenshot of the text message, which he said was from a trade union colleague who confided in him.

“These are some of the messages from MPs who have been bullied,” he said.

“One member of parliament spent nearly three hours in tears talking about how they were being treated. Asked me how to fake a Covid test so I wouldn’t have to come.”

He said he provided a text message to the prime minister’s office in December but was only intercepted.

“Even now, the party and its leadership do not believe there is a problem, which drove me to this point,” Dr Sharma said.

Ardern said he had no evidence to support his claims. She called an emergency caucus held on Tuesday, where Labor MPs unanimously agreed to suspend Dr Sharma for “repeated violations” of caucus rules.

“The team made it very clear that to function as a political party where open discussion and dialogue is so important, you have to trust your colleagues. We need to,” Ardern said after the meeting.

“That confidence was shattered by repeated violations of caucus rules over the past five days.

“There are very real issues facing New Zealanders right now. As members of parliament in our government, we should pay more attention to responding to them than talking about ourselves.”

It was later revealed that there was another meeting on Monday night before the official caucuses. The entire caucus was present, except for Dr. Sharma.

Dr Sharma later revealed that another Labor MP had called him to warn him that the outcome of the next caucuses was “all pre-determined” and that his suspension was a foregone conclusion.

Other MPs on the call were unaware that they were being recorded. Dr. Sharma leaked the tape to news his media.

That was the context of Thursday night’s interview with Dr. Sharma.

“It’s Kangaroo Court. It’s Banana Republic. The decision was already made the night before,” he said of his suspension.

“This is the Prime Minister’s Office trying to cover up something, this is the Prime Minister trying to cover up something. And I want to say that this is not just about bullying. There are many others here.” I have.

“What is the prime minister trying to hide?”

Speaking to the media on Friday, Dr. Sharma doubled down on his claims.

“There is no such thing as credibility. For example, this is not my credibility … This is about the credibility of the prime minister of the country who lies every step of the way,” he told Radio New Zealand.

“Also this week she lied and said there was no pre-determined decision while she was calling to a meeting where everyone but me was invited.”

Ardern’s office released a statement in response Thursday night.

“On Tuesday, the caucuses suspended Gauraf for repeated breaches of trust. It will be discussed,” he said.

“As the prime minister said on Tuesday, we expected Gaurav to continue to re-sue the matter in this manner.

“He has not yet responded to our communications about entering mediation, instead using the media to argue his case.”

Labor may now decide to expel him. No matter what he chooses, Ardern’s latest headache won’t go away.