Poll shows New Zealand populist party could be kingmaker as Labour slides

Support fell further for New Zealand's incumbent Labour party in an opinion poll released on Monday, with the populist New Zealand First party emerging as a potential kingmaker in next month's general election. In the Oct. 14 vote, the centre-right National led by Christopher Luxon is expected to emerge as the largest party in a coalition government.

Support fell further for New Zealand's incumbent Labour party in an opinion poll released on Monday, with the populist New Zealand First party emerging as a potential kingmaker in next month's general election.

In the Oct. 14 vote, the centre-right National led by Christopher Luxon is expected to emerge as the largest party in a coalition government. National leads Prime Minister Chris Hipkins' Labour 31.9% to 26.5%, the Newshub-Reid Research poll showed, though no single party will have enough support to form a government alone.

New Zealand elects lawmakers using a mixed-member proportional (MMP) system that has made coalitions the norm since it was introduced in 1996. Lawmakers are elected either in one of 72 constituencies, or from a centralised list based on overall vote share.

The biggest winner from Monday's poll was Winston Peters and his populist New Zealand First party, which crossed the 5% threshold required to elect lawmakers from the centralised list. New Zealand First's six projected seats in the 120-member parliament would make the party the kingmaker in a coalition led by National and potential partners ACT New Zealand, another right-wing party.

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