The National Party, its leader and its MPs appear still to not have their political antennae in tune with public sentiment when it comes to Covid messaging. This was borne out last Sunday following the special press conference called to make the entire country the same colour as the government and the true state of the economy: Red.
It’s not all that easy to find comedy on a Sunday but it was on full show last weekend for an hour, courtesy Jacinda Ardern and Ashley Gloomfield, sorry Bloomfield. Even when gracing us with her presence to waffle through the bad news she still manages to look like the poster girl for Colgate toothpaste. I presume she views the problems associated with running the country in much the same way as cancelling her wedding: “Such is life.” For the life of me, apart from further hurting sectors already in dire straits such as hospitality and tourism, I cannot see the point of going from orange to red.
Of course, the lunatics living in the ivory towers of academia would have us all locked down in much the same way Brian Tamaki is locked up. I have to admit to missing the comedy hour as watching the lady or even hearing her voice gives me unpleasant contemplations. However, in answer to one of the inane questions from the assembled media disciples, I did hear her say that “we do things differently to other countries.” Indeed she does and this is exactly what will be her inevitable downfall. The headline in the English Daily Express reads:
– ‘Thank Lord we’re in UK’. Britons stunned as NZ’s Ardern tightens Covid restrictions AGAIN.
This is precisely where National are missing the boat and the current heartbeat of the nation. Christopher Luxon’s response to Ardern’s announcement was lacking whatever positive things National would have done particularly in relation to those businesses really hurting and which will now have to endure more pain. Ardern didn’t mention them because she neither cares nor understands.
To Labour, Covid is purely a health issue and a means to control the people while implementing their vile agenda. National needs to address Covid in much broader terms and I was disappointed Christopher Luxon failed to do this in his response.
If I were involved in the hospitality or tourism sectors, or indeed in any business that was affected by the nonsense being imposed, I would be wanting to hear what alternative measures National would be putting in place. What would their plan be? How would they differentiate from Labour’s pretty much non-existent one?
As I said earlier it’s fair enough to criticise but then just to bang on about getting vaccinated and the number of ICU beds etc. is not what the majority of us want to hear.
We are sick to the back teeth being told to get vaccinated. Leave that to Labour and the Ministry of Health. That’s their playbook, their song sheet.
As with the furore over Harete Hipango attending the rally, National seem to be continuing to not read the room. While most people are interested in what meat and veg National would serve up in contrast to Labour’s Covid scrambled eggs, they appear to be out to lunch. They need to be seen as the party representing business, both big and small. Apart from highlighting Labour’s shortcomings they need to be talking about the sorts of things Steven Joyce alluded to in his piece in the Weekend Herald. These are the storm clouds which Joyce says are clearly gathering.
Inflation is the most obvious which Joyce reckons could be nearer 7% than 5% by the middle of the year. This means interest rates going up, affecting borrowers and people with big mortgages. The costs of the basics such as food will all go up, affecting the poorest the hardest. Joyce says it’s not looking too rosy for the sharemarkets either. House prices, he says, will also come under scrutiny and then there’s the problems internally with the Chinese economy.
These are what National should be focusing on, not endlessly repeating a tired old message about getting a jab in the arm. Nobody’s listening anymore. To get the public’s attention you have to be ahead of the game, ahead of the government and starting to talk about the real issues that will define 2022. These are issues that will hurt people’s back pocket. These are the issues the government won’t want to talk about. When these come along, as sure as Omicron has, a flu type sniffle will quickly pale into insignificance.
Come on National, your time has arrived, a time to deal with the real issues, issues that will hurt far more than the jab in the arm you and Labour keep banging on about.
This country is being run by children. Please differentiate yourselves. There’s never been a better time to show you are a viable alternative government. Rather than an injection of vaccine the people are crying out for an injection of positivity. This is the year to really needle the government on the issues that matter. Covid is so yesterday!