2023 New Zealand general election (14 October)

[Cassius]

more than pretty surprising, hysterically hypocritical.

But still quite interesting, given who it is!

It’s worth bearing in mind that Douglas viewed his 80s reforms as an attack on ‘privilege’ within New Zealand society (make of that what you will, but I believe he used the exact word in a documentary on the Rogernomics years), and of course, in the first term in particular, the groups hardest hit by the Rogernomics reforms were the farmers and the manufacturing industry, both traditionally very well-insulated from international competition to the detriment of the consumer (particularly in the latter case). This intervention seems to be framed along similar lines as an attack on ‘privilege’.

[Cassius]

https://twitter.com/nzlabour/status/1690919131577544704

Will you get a bonus fruit basket if you vote Labour in the electorate and on the list?

[Cassius]

What are the most important reasons for Labour's loss? To what extent did the sense that Ardern's COVID lockdowns were too strict play a role?

Seems it's very little about COVID and more about housing costs and cost of life in general.
You might copy-paste in the Canadian thread after Trudeau loses next election, too.

Or the British one (the constant scandals and government instability factor in over here too, but then the Sixth Labour Government has hardly been a model of scandal free competence). The rich English speaking nations all face very similar problems (if we leave America on the side as they’re very much their own thing), but nobody really knows quite what to do about them.

Of course, much of what’s driving the cost of living problems stems from the original COVID response, but that’s a global issue so you can’t really blame the New Zealand government too much for that aspect of it.