In the past week I have discussed how many small parties appear to offer little other than the very addictive but ultimately futile “hopium”. Hopium is that “metaphorical substance that causes people to believe in a false hope”. It is often paired with copium. As opposed to copium, which represents the rationalisation of the current situation, hopium represents the belief that the situation will someday improve.
And now it looks like the National Party is going to peddle hopium, as well, in this election.
In speeches to rally their members, both Luxon and deputy leader Nicola Willis did not attack Labour but cast the country as reaching a “critical point” and presented voters a choice: a country where the Kiwi “promise” of getting ahead through hard work was at risk, or the “hope” and aspiration of a National government.
Stuff
Spare me. When politicians talk about hope they are really signalling that they are out of ideas. The fact this was from deputy leader Nicola Willis in her keynote speech does not fill me with hope: it fills me with dread.
National has never stood for anything other than the status quo. What they are promising is to be better managers of the economy that Labour is leaving in tatters. They aren’t promising anything transformational, just more of the same with better controls and more effective management.
If they were going to really sell hopium, then why not have some big goals, like unravelling and destroying utterly any hint of co-governance, destroying the separatism that is festering in our society and removing the destructive and divisive race-based politics that are supported by woke dogma. Now that really would be something worth hoping for.
Or they can begin to redress the awful harms caused by Ardern’s divisive and cruel Covid policies – you know, those policies which National wholeheartedly supported that destroyed lives, wrecked businesses and careers, and left countless clinging to real hope that there would be a party that actually stood for more than empty platitudes, like protecting our Bill of Rights, standing up for freedom of speech and treating every citizen the same.
Sadly, that wasn’t the National Party; not this past weekend as they peddled hope, nor at any time in recent memory.
It also appears that National is partaking in the hopium, the crack cocaine of politics, themselves:
From the outset of the conference, party members were given a goal: getting New Zealand “back on track” by obtaining 45 per cent of the party vote at the coming election, on October 14.
National has been polling at about 35 per cent in polling so far this year. The party has struggled to break away from Labour in the polls, as its expected coalition partner, the ACT party, polls above 10 per cent.
Stuff
Really? Forty five per cent? National are quite some way off that level of achievement. They got 44 per cent in 2017, when Bill English failed to capitalise on it by refusing to negotiate and therefore handing the election to Jacinda Ardern. They got 47 per cent in 2014 under John Key. In 2011 also, they scored 47% under John Key. In 2008, when John Key first won, their score was just 44 per cent.
Is Christopher Luxon a John Key? Not even remotely. In 2008 National slid from highs of 50 per cent in the final weeks to land at 44 per cent. In 2011 they slid about three per cent in the final weeks. In 2014 they slid about six per cent in the final weeks. Do you see that pattern yet? In 2017 they slid three per cent in the final weeks.
National traditionally slides away from highs to a lesser result. Right now they are sitting on around 35 per cent in the polls. Trying to get 45 per cent at the election is akin to climbing Everest, and even more difficult if they are breathing hopium rather than oxygen.
We express deep concern when we hear about youth huffing glue, nitrous oxide or spray paint, but somehow don’t share the same concern when political aspirants huff on hopium.
National are huffing hard.
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