The ousting of main opposition..........>

NEW ZEALAND: The ousting of main opposition National Party leader Simon Bridges

on May 22 highlights the difficulty the party faces in trying to oust PM Jacinda

Ardern's Labour Party-led coalition government in the September 19 election.

- Bridges was ousted in a secret meeting of MPs from the centre-right Nationals,

who sit in opposition despite being the largest party in the House of

Representatives.

- His replacement, Todd Muller, has a background in the agricultural firms in

the private sector. Muller is seen as having an activist view on environmental

protection, but a social conservative. 

- The ouster of Bridges comes as opinion polling shows a surge in support for

Ardern's Labour party in the wake of the gov'ts effective containment of

COVID-19. The strength of Labour (and Ardern's) polling would translate into an

outright majority if they are reflected in the final result. Opinion polling:

-- LAB 59%, NAT 29%, GRN 4.7%, NZF 2.9%, ACT 2.2% (Colmar Brunton, 16-20 May)

-- LAB 56.5%, NAT 30.6%, GRN 5.5%, NZF 2.7%, ACT 1.8% (Reid Research, 8-16 May)

- 2017 elec result: NAT 44.4%, LAB 36.9%, NZF 7.2%, GRN 6.3%, ACT 0.5%