Cautious, self-confessed ‘perfectionist’ Ardern was never going to allow Winston’s Aussie ski bunnies to frolic on our slopes this winter. (But the publicity of attending Morrison’s cabinet meeting by Skype was useful for her global brand building. Never mind that he almost forgot to cover it in his post-cabinet press conference.)
The perfectionist is paralyzed by fear and is being held captive by the Ministry of Health’s unassuming Dr Bloomfield who is not averse to a bit of spin himself and is putting the fear of death into our unworldly PM: He of the: “We’re not out of the woods yet”, and “This is NOT a moment in time, That was yesterday”… Keep up!
Along with our global superstar, he also has his sights set on the record books when historians will tell our legendary tale of going hard and early to vanquish the virus. (Not true. “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth”, is a law of propaganda often attributed to the Nazi Joseph Goebbels.) She appears to rely on his advice, often.
The problem our great leader has is her self-confessed habit for ‘perfectionism’ which can lead to tunnel vision, striving for great results in one area, e.g. COVID-19, and ignoring other equally important considerations, like the ongoing economic and personal health issues of her invisible team of five million. As a Prime Minister that can have catastrophic effects, which are building before our very eyes.
This happened with her government’s harsh decision to deny returning kiwis the right to visit dying relatives. When ruling in the high court, the judge, on reversing the MoH decision, said it was not “proportionate” to the circumstances. And so say all of us.
Jacinda has a large dollop of egg on her face for announcing they had given 18 people visiting rights when there had been none issued. Oops, but blame attributed elsewhere followed by a stream of rhetoric and a suitably concerned face, covered that one off nicely. Next question, please!
Proportionate is what she is not being in continuing to keep us all in lock down, and preventing retailers from trading whilst watching their livelihoods slip away with the prospects of having to let staff go. A one size fits all is not the way to deal with this.
The Opposition has been beating the proportionate drum for weeks. Simon Bridges is right. Daily assessment of COVID-19 figures, which let’s face it are exceptional, should be made in the light of other crucial factors.
How could Ardern not make contingency plans when she shut down New Zealand? The fact is life goes on; operations are needed, babies are born, people die, and the devastation is immense from the loss of jobs and businesses failing.
For example, lawn mowing contractors would have been fine to continue working throughout. Their work is non-contact and they perform a valuable service. An agile government would have made exceptions for them and others.
There is no shame in changing tack midway to get the better outcome, it shows flexibility. But that is not an option for this government. Insecure and threatened, driven by ideology and lacking in principles, they are inflexible and lack vision.
Bridges said before Anzac weekend, they were not ready then. Same applies now.
Also, Ardern’s temperament is holding her back. Cautious, even timid does not cut it during a crisis like this. Bridges may have a “stilted communications style” according to one commentator but word is he has nerves of steel. Riddled with anxiety and preferring working groups to decision making, Ardern could do with a bit of that.
A decision has to be made to leave level 3 and a risk taken, a calculated one. A true leader in possession of all the facts would make the right call for the good of all the country, not just a perfect Covid outcome.
Bloomfield has her ear, and of course there may be other matters of which we are unaware.
Bridges suggested to Dr Bloomfield during an ERC hearing this week, much to Michael Wood’s horror, that the Director-General is slow to respond to National’s OIO requests because the government wants to keep control of the narrative. Shocking, but I believe, very true from this most ‘open and transparent government ever’!
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