The numbers are in, and New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern is officially Australia’s most trusted politician. That’s according to a recent poll by data company Millward Brown, who asked 1400 Australians to score a range of 12 politicians—including Australian prime minister Scott Morrison, Opposition leader Bill Shorten, Greens leader Richard Di Natale, and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson—in six different categories, the New Zealand Herald reports. Polling participants rated the politicians in areas of relevance, integrity, shared values, commitment, affinity, and follow through, and then assigned each of them a rating out of 100.
Ardern scored highest in all three categories of relevance, integrity, and commitment, giving her a total “believability” rating of 77—by far the highest of any of the pollies in question. Scott Morrison, by comparison, received a score of just 43. Even Pauline Hanson pipped the Australian Prime Minister at the post with a believability score of 44, while Bill Shorten ranked slightly less than his rival at 42. Tony Abbott came in with a mere 36 out of 100, and the bottom end of the ladder was filled out by Peter Dutton—at 34—and Clive Palmer—30.
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As for the top of the ladder: Penny Wong ranked second on the index with a score of 53; Julie Bishop third at 52; and Tanya Plibersek fourth at 50—meaning that the three most “believable” politicians in Australia were all women. The closest a male politician came was Labor’s Anthony Albanese on 46, followed by Di Natale on 45.
“When it comes to capturing the hearts and minds of the people they lead, it’s no longer enough to just focus on trust—that’s merely a starting point and a rational place to play,” said Kaz Scott, chief strategy officer with OPR, the company that commissioned the research, according to 7 News. “The question of believability goes beyond credibility or trustworthiness to whether we’ll truly follow a leader.”
Kaz suggested that Ardern’s overwhelming popularity was likely based on the belief that “she represents her country well” and that she is an “inspirational leader”. The New Zealand politician wasn’t included in another question, however, which asked participants to name their preferred candidate for the position of Australian prime minister. Julie Bishop scored highest in this respect, raking in 14 percent of the votes, while Morrison and Shorten scored 11 and 12 percent respectively. A quarter of respondents said they weren’t impressed by any of the listed politicians.
Another section of the poll asked participants to rank a handful of Australian business leaders on a similar scale of believability. ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose ranked highest in that case with 64 out of 100, followed by former CEO of Fortescue Metals Group Andrew Forrest (who scored 53), Qantas CEO Alan Joyce (who scored 48), and mining magnate Gina Rinehart (who scored 40).
“When it comes to leadership in business, Australian shareholders, employees, and customers are looking for the same things that they’re looking for in their politicians,” said Kaz. “Shared values, strong platforms, and the bravery to stand up for things they believe in.”
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