Another round of polls came out last week. None were particularly positive for National. At a time when the opposition appears more of a rabble on the fringe than a serious political force, National is failing to take advantage. At least, if the polls are to be believed, that is the public perception.
Polls this far out from an election are largely meaningless as they show no more than a moment in time. For National, however, the trend has been in evidence for more than a ‘moment in time’. Even with the farming sector currently doing well, the polls continue to show the majority of the electorate is yet to be convinced that National is the party to solve our current problems.
In the latest Curia poll, the most important concern of voters is the economy in general, knocking the cost of living into second place. National was also knocked into second place behind Labour. It appears the recent Budget did little to encourage optimism.
Yet the poll also showed National by far and away the party most trusted to be in charge of the economy. A Federated Farmers poll showed 59 per cent of farmers trust National. So National should be crushing Labour. But they’re not. Why?
The Nats are not only letting us down, they’re letting themselves down. They are not presenting themselves as the real National Party. Let me explain. When I talk about the real National Party I’m talking about the party it should be. A party that upholds both its principles and its promises.
The principles are those stated in the party’s founding document and the promises are the pledges they made on the election campaign that caused people to vote for them. They have MPs who are capable of honouring the principles and the promises. Compared to the Labour Party, National has people who are streets ahead in ability and application. So where, in the voters’ minds, is it all going so wrong?
If the comments on this site represent the majority, which they probably do, National is still regarded as Labour lite: they have not stamped out the various forms of Māori prevalence they said they would and Luxon lacks a spine. They do not give the impression of a party prepared to get tough across the board.
To be fair, they have done some good things – some of which have been at the behest of their coalition partners. They have toughened up on law and order giving the police more powers, they have toughened up on welfare, they are much more understanding of problems affecting the rural communities and they have started slimming down the civil service. They are also upping the amount spent on defence.
In education we are back to the three R’s and steps are being taken to get attendance at school sorted. There is support for infrastructure projects and for mining and for oil and gas exploration driven by Shane Jones. Improvements in the roading network are to be applauded. This is all good stuff – but, it has failed to capture the imagination of the public.
Clearly, something is going wrong. It seems the National Party doesn't grasp that two key areas (which may not register high on the list of major issues for voters), are in fact causing sufficient irritation to supporters and potential supporters of the party, that it's dragging down their polling.
These two areas are race and climate change, where the party is seriously out of step with its supporters to the point where they feel they can no longer give National their vote.
As I noted earlier the party has gone soft on promises made prior to the election and there is still evidence of race-based policies being implemented. I have just listened to a video on YouTube from the co-governance website and the main take away is what we on this site have concluded: Luxon, Potaka and Goldsmith are simply carrying on the policies instigated by Ardern and Hipkins. This is a disgrace and an out and out betrayal of those who voted for them.
We want out of the Paris Accord: we want climate policy that is sensible and not disadvantageous to the country, particularly the farming sector. We want to be rid of the net zero rubbish and stupid climate goals that patently can’t be achieved. Our policies should reflect the fact that, while playing our part, anything we do has a negligible effect on the climate in a global context. Our priority should be to ensure we are self-sufficient in energy.
A recent poll in the UK shows most Brits have turned against net zero as it is affecting their standard of living with higher energy bills. They don’t believe the timeframes for achieving the net zero goals are attainable. The poll also showed a majority now supporting the idea of nuclear power. I have just read that the Highways Board is going to switch off lights on some stretches of motorways to cut emissions and help meet net zero goals. Crazy stuff…
Likewise we need to get off the globalist bandwagon, which is a power grab by the left in their quest for world governance and it seems this is the path down which Luxon is leading his party and the country. The best way to show our displeasure is to party vote either ACT or NZ First at next year’s election.
If National doesn’t start listening to its voter base, the damage it is inflicting on itself will only get worse. It is losing the trust of those who voted for it at the last election. If it fails to act on the issues it highlighted on the campaign, people will become very cynical listening to their talk on “growing the economy”.
The truth, however unpalatable it might be, is we do everything to keep this government in power. Slightly choppy waters are preferable to the tsunami that would eventuate under the alternative mix on the other side of the House. Drowning in a sea of debt is one thing, drowning in waves of repellent divisive policies promoted by the red, green and red-and-black parties is quite another.
Not an option.
