New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s success containing coronavirus has driven an extraordinary popularity surge that has put the youthful leader on course for a landslide win in September’s national election. Â
Ardern’s centre-left Labour Party was up 14 points at 56.5 percent, a Newshub-Reid Research poll published Monday found, with her rating as preferred prime minister surging 20.8 points to 59.5 percent. Â
The survey also indicated an overwhelming 91.6 percent backing for Ardern’s COVID-19 response, which involved a strict seven-week lockdown that appears to have the virus under control. Â
Support for the conservative National opposition slumped 12.7 points to 30.6 percent in the poll, with its leader Simon Bridges on 4.5 percent as preferred Prime Minister — down 6.1 points. Â
The figures mirror leaked research from Labour’s own pollster, UMR, last month which had Ardern’s party on 55 percent support and National at 29 percent.  Ardern, who won office on a wave of “Jacinda-mania†in 2017, said she was making no assumptions about the September 19 election. Â
 “I’m taking nothing for granted,†the 39-year-old told Newshub. Â
 “The fact that I’m making no assumptions about what will be the end outcome will be on election day should be a nod to that.â€Â
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