Simon, in the first part of his article in last week’s Weekend Herald, purported to be worried about Trump and his insurrectionist supporters storming the Capitol. In truth, as the left does, Simon went into a diatribe about the man and how he has basically ruined democracy.
In the second half of his article, Simon turned his attention to domestic politics, starting with the National Party. He wondered what National will do, saying that their task isn’t easy and that it is important. For democracy to work well, voters have to believe their side has a reasonable chance of success, at least some of the time. He said that National has to find a credible place to stand, prosper and survive in a Covid and climate crisis world. He also said that National’s policies need to make sense and be popular, and with that I agree.
As for the Covid and climate crisis world, the answer from the current administration appears to be to do next to nothing. Donald Trump, on the other hand, increased the personal wealth of every American during Covid and maintained a strong economy, something Simon would, of course, be reluctant to give him credit for. Simon said that the time has come to make democracy better. In this country, we know we have to reduce poverty and overcome the terrible blight of a runaway housing market.
I would like to see Simon engaging his brain in order to tell us what exactly his lot have achieved in the last three years. The answer is that in almost every area where the Government has been involved, including the so-called climate crisis, things have gotten worse.
Poverty is now far worse than when Labour came to power. DHBs were in a financial mess even before Covid came along. Kiwibuild was an abject failure, educational standards are falling, the rural sector is being asphyxiated in red tape, Auckland has fifty polluted beaches and infrastructure at close to breaking point, the holiday road toll has doubled without the assistance of tourists and gun crime is becoming rampant.
Those are all good reasons why Simon should be afraid.
He goes on to talk about how the challenge to make democracy better will involve schools, the workings of Parliament and the economy, the way we address historical injustice and social and ethnic differences including race. He also says social media have a part to play. Really? What sort of part, I wonder, since their recent actions to censor conservatives are very undemocratic.
Silencing opinions that are different from yours does nothing to make democracy better.
Simon talks about involving those who could be affected by a plan, such as retailers where, heaven forbid, a cycle lane might be proposed. He would like to see local boards move into more of a leadership role taking the leadership away from the engineers and accountants in local body administration. He suggested starting citizens’ assemblies which he says are becoming popular in the UK and Europe. I’m not going to disagree with these ideas but I can see a potential danger of instituting another round of left-wing talkfests. That is what defined the first term of this Government. The handbrake aside, there was, and still is, a definite lack of leadership to solve the problems the Government is dealing with.
Simon does make a very good point near the end of his article. It is this: There must be leadership. Democracy is built on the power of the citizenry, but in the end, it stands or falls on the quality of those in charge. Unfortunately for Simon, therein lies the cause of why all the areas he would like to see improved have in fact got worse.
Simon is still hopeful that Jacinda Ardern will do great things, but he is doomed to disappointment. Our PM and her entourage of sixty-something collectively wouldn’t get anywhere near to what the man he despises, Donald Trump, has achieved in four years virtually on his lonesome.
I have a strong feeling that Simon is going to find their achievements no greater after their second term than their first. None, nil, zilch. All the arrows measuring the various social areas will still be pointing in the wrong direction, only probably more so.
It’s not going to be too difficult for National, if they want, to find that credible space to stand, prosper and survive. Policies as well as being popular and sensible need to be implemented. We have seen precious little of this from Jacinda Ardern and I, for one, am not expecting much to change. To make change you need courage and conviction. Neither quality resides in Ardern’s psyche.
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