New Zealand opposition leader resigns just two months into job
Todd Muller, who has stepped down as New Zealand prepares for elections in September, said the role taxed his health.
New Zealand’s opposition leader has abruptly resigned just weeks after taking the job, leaving the conservative National Party scrambling to find a new leader to face Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in the September 19 election.
In a brief statement on Tuesday, Todd Muller said he was stepping down, “effective immediately”.
“It has become clear to me that I am not the best person to be leader of the Opposition and Leader of the New Zealand National Party at this critical time for New Zealand,” he said.
“The role has taken a heavy toll on me personally, and on my family, and this has become untenable from a health perspective.”
Muller became opposition leader in May, following a string of opinion polls that showed Ardern’s Labour Party was set to retain power.
He clawed back some support for the National Party, taking it to 38 percent against 50 for Labour in opinion polls, but still trailed 13 percent to 54 in the preferred prime minister rating.
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The National Party took a further hit this week after it was revealed that a junior legislator leaked private health details of New Zealand COVID-19 patients to news media.
Muller has been widely criticised for his handling of the scandal and is facing questions over when he knew the source of the leak and if he knew one of his most senior colleagues had also received the information.
September election
Muller’s National Party colleagues, who will meet later on Tuesday to discuss a replacement leader, offered comfort.
“Our thoughts are very much with Todd and his family at this difficult time as is our compassion and love for Todd,” the party’s senior whip Barbara Kuriger said.
New Zealand media reported deputy National Party leader Nikki Kaye will lead the party until a permanent leader is selected. It will be the opposition’s third leader in four months.
Ardern sent her best wishes to Muller and his family.
“No matter what side of Parliament you’re sitting, politics is a difficult place,” the prime minister said in a statement.
New Zealand goes to the polls in September in what is expected to be a coronavirus-dominated campaign.
Recent opinion polls have predicted that Labour could govern on its own, without needing a coalition partner, helped by Ardern’s soaring popularity with most New Zealanders approving of her government’s handling of the crisis.
New Zealand had 25 active cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday, all among New Zealanders returning from overseas.
It has recorded 22 deaths from nearly 1,200 confirmed cases.