The Worm turns down for John Key   1 Sep 2014

Roy Morgan Research

The Worm turns down for John Key

The Roy Morgan Reactor is back!

John Key struggled to coax The Worm above the line in Thursday’s Leaders Debate, according to Roy Morgan’s Reactor, the original Worm.
 
John Key struggled to coax The Worm above the line in Thursday’s Leaders Debate, according to Roy Morgan’s Reactor, the original Worm.

The Worm appeared live on the Scoop website during the debate, making it clear that the 100 New Zealanders reacting via their smartphones could feel John Key’s uncertainty and apparent discomfort.

When the Reactor graphs are viewed by political persuasion (‘who would you like to win, National or Labour?) the split is usually entirely predictable - almost regardless of what the leaders are actually saying. The graph lines below (each leader’s response to the questions of foreign ownership of sensitive land) are typical.

The really telling moments in these debates are when a speakers manages to drag those of the opposite political persuasion over the all-important centre line - or at least stop them heading entirely in the opposite direction.

John Key really only managed to achieve this once where as David Cunliffe seemed to be constantly gaining at least some traction with National voters.

The only time when the National leader managed the same feat was when he was responding to the question ‘What is the most surprising political view you hold’.

Key: “Ah ... I think for a lot of people that would be my support of gay marriage because I come from the centre-right of politics ...”

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