RNZ-Reid Research poll: More voters blame struggling economy on coalition than previous govt.

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ore people blame the coalition for New Zealand's struggling economy than the previous Labour government, according to the RNZ-Reid Research poll.  

And voters are becoming more pessimistic about the direction of the country. 

The economic blame game has ramped up in recent months, with the government acknowledging times are tough but saying the previous government left it a mess it has had to clean up.  

The now-opposition, meanwhile, rejects that, saying the coalition has had more than enough time to take some responsibility, and has made the wrong choices. 

In the latest poll, 1000 voters were asked "who do you hold most responsible for NZ's struggling economy right now?". 

 Thirty-seven-point-six percent of respondents said the current coalition government was responsible (that is, National, ACT, and New Zealand First), while 30.8 percent blamed the previous government (Labour, with support from the Greens). Twenty-three-point-nine percent said both were equally responsible. 

Four-point-eight percent said neither, while 2.9 percent said they did not know. 

The split results by party preference largely followed party lines, with respondents who said they would vote for left-leaning parties more likely to hold the current government responsible.  

Similarly, supporters of the coalition parties largely blamed the previous government. 

Thirty-five-point-one percent of New Zealand First voters, however, said both governments were to blame - not far behind its share of supporters who blamed the previous government, which was 39.9 percent. 

More people felt the country was heading in the wrong direction than previously. 

Each RNZ-Reid Research Poll has asked voters how they feel about New Zealand's current direction. 

Voters were asked, "In your opinion, under the current government, do you think New Zealand is heading in the right or wrong direction?" 

Forty-eight-point-nine percent believed the country was heading in the wrong direction. 

Thirty-four percent said it was going in the right direction. Fifteen percent said neither the right nor wrong direction, while 2.1 percent said they did not know. 

That put the right-track-wrong-track on a net score of -14.9, sliding from the previous poll taken in May, which was -8.8. 

March's poll had a net score of +2.9. Broken down by party lines, 72.2 percent of National supporters thought the country was going in the right direction, as did 59.3 percent of ACT supporters. 

Their praise, however, was moderate: 63.5 percent of National supporters thought it was 'mostly' going in the right direction, compared to 9.3 percent who thought it was 'absolutely' heading there. 

Fifty-four percent of ACT supporters thought things were 'mostly' going in the right direction. 

Just 5.3 percent backed it as 'absolutely' going in the right direction. 

Interestingly, more New Zealand First supporters thought the country was going in the wrong direction versus right: 46.7 percent wrong, compared to 30 percent right. 

Unsurprisingly, Labour, Green Party, and Te Pāti Māori supporters believed the country was going in the wrong direction: 76.6 percent, 79.6 percent, and 77.2 percent respectively. 

Green voters were more likely to say the country was 'absolutely' heading in the wrong direction (50.1 percent) than 'mostly' in the wrong direction (29.5 percent). 

The same could be said for Te Pāti Māori supporters (55.2 percent said 'absolutely' the wrong direction, 22 percent said 'mostly' the wrong direction). 

Labour supporters were more moderate, with 47 percent saying 'mostly' the wrong direction, versus 29.6 percent who felt the country was 'absolutely' heading in the wrong direction.

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