Jim Anderton coudn’t decide if being mayor of a major city hit by a major earthquake was a full-time job.
His lack of clarity has cost him dearly.
There has been a dramatic turnaround in the race for the Christchurch mayoralty since the Canterbury earthquake.
A UMR Research Poll released today shows 55 per cent of decided voters now intend to vote for the incumbent Bob Parker, up 27 per cent since June.
The survey was done online and questioned only a small sample of 361 Christchurch residents so had a relatively high margin of error of 5.2 per cent.
But the result is a blow to Progressive leader Jim Anderton, who was a clear favourite before the earthquake, after polling at 60 per cent in the same poll in June.
His support has now dropped to 41 per cent, a 19 percent fall.
Mr Parker’s handling of the earthquake and the recovery effort are behind his surge in popularity, with 88 per cent of those questioned thinking he handled the aftermath very well. Fifty five percent of those questioned viewed Mr Parker positively, up 20 per cent since June. That compares with 44 per cent who view Mr Anderton positively, a 19 per cent drop since June.
That’s such a shame. I guess now Jim will have to find something else to dither about – perhaps his retirement, or maybe his merger with the Labour party?
Something should go here, maybe later. 