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Summarised by Centrist
Labour’s election strategy appears to be saying as little as possible while the coalition government struggles with the economy, health, housing and unemployment.
According to writer Hayden Donnell, the small-target strategy simply keeps Chris Hipkins vague while avoiding detailed policy fights, and letting voters project their own hopes onto Labour as the alternative to an unpopular government.
Donnell says Hipkins has been repeating broad priorities such as “jobs, health, homes and the cost of living” while offering limited detail. He notes Labour’s policy page lists only five policies, with two tied to free doctor visits and a capital gains tax.
So far, the tactic appears to be helping Labour. Donnell says the party has risen in the polls while the Greens, despite offering more ambitious policy, have slipped.
But he warns the strategy has a shelf life. Labour can benefit from being “something different to this” while voters are angry about the cost of living and public services. Eventually, though, it will need to show what it would actually do.
Donnell argues the danger is that Labour could win by default, inherit a grim status quo, and then disappoint voters if it lacks credible plans to fix jobs, health, housing and living costs.
