(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - National party leader John Key is viewed by many people in New Zealand as the best person to head the government, according to a poll by Colmar Brunton released by One News. 41 per cent of respondents want Key to be prime minister, up five points since August.

Incumbent Helen Clark—leader of the Labour party—is second with 31 per cent, followed by Winston Peters of New Zealand First (NZF) with three per cent.

Clark has acted as New Zealand’s prime minister since December 1999. In November 2006, Don Brash—who had served as National’s leader since October 2003—announced his resignation and was substituted by finance spokesman John Key.

In the September 2005 ballot, Labour elected 50 lawmakers to the 121-seat House of Representatives, and assembled a coalition government with the Progressives. United Future and New Zealand First agreed to support the administration in confidence and supply votes for three years. National finished second, with 48 legislators.

On Oct. 9, Manufacturers and Exporters Association chief executive John Walley disagreed with a proposal by Key to scrap tax credits for companies investing in research and development to pay for personal tax cuts. Walley declared: "New Zealand was once at the bottom of the OECD [Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development] in terms of policy support for R&D spending, this change will put us back in last place. At a time when other countries such as Australia are about to increase their support for innovation, New Zealand firms will once again be at a competitive disadvantage in this respect."

The next legislative election will take place on Nov. 8.

Polling Data

Who would you prefer as prime minister?

Source: Colmar Brunton / One News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,010 New Zealand voters, conducted from Sept. 27 to Oct. 2, 2008. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.

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