(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has slipped to her lowest poll rating since taking office in 2017.
Ardern's Labour Party fell three percentage points to 37% in a 1News/Kantar poll published Thursday in Wellington. Labour now trails the main opposition National Party, which rose seven points to 39%. The next general election is due in late 2023.
The poll was conducted as New Zealand grapples with its worst Covid-19 outbreak of the pandemic, with more than 20,000 people now falling ill with the virus each day, and as prices rise at the fastest pace in more than three decades. After years of infighting, National has also become more settled under new leader Christopher Luxon.
Ardern still tops the preferred prime minister rankings, on 34% against Luxon's 25%.
Support for Ardern's ally the Green Party was steady at 9%, while National ally the ACT Party slipped three points to 8%. That means voters are almost evenly split between the center-left and center-right and, if an election were held today, the small Maori Party would hold the balance of power. It had 2% support.
Ardern secured a second three-year term in 2020 with an unprecedented outright majority.
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