Winston Speaks the Language of the Right

If you haven’t heard Winston’s State of the Nation speech in Christchurch, I suggest you seek it out. YouTube has it and it is well worth a listen. Before going further I would like to start with a caveat: Winston talks a lot about, and is very critical of, the Labour Party (remember – the party he went into coalition with and gifted us with). It is all too tempting to say ‘well you put them there’. I have said it myself many times. Beyond giving us some perverse sense of satisfaction to utter those words (which it surely does), no useful purpose is served – we are where we are.

Having said that we should not forgive him his actions and many of us won’t. His miscalculated decision cost his party dearly in the 2020 election and, leading up to the 2023 election, he was forced to repeat on numerous occasions that he would not go with Labour as if we needed convincing. And let's face it, we most certainly did.

While not admitting to his mistake in 2017 (which he never will), he declared in his address that he will not be entertaining Labour at next year’s election. For the record, I believe him. Making this statement so early on is crucial as we now know the stark choice we have when choosing between the parties of the left and right: those on the left present a nightmare scenario for the country.

The important takeaway from Winston’s speech was that he spoke unequivocally the language of the political right. This is why I believe him when he says he won’t go with Labour. You could say he’s learnt his lesson but times have changed since 2017. Labour wrecked the country and he knows it.

He spoke of the mess the coalition Government inherited and what they are having to deal with. He gave just-released figures showing the progress that is being made to turn the country around economically. He made the point that running the country is like piloting a ship – it takes a long time to turn it around.

He talked about getting rid of woke, a cancer infesting the left and condoned by too many on the right (was that a dig at Luxon?). He spoke of jobs in the public service being gained on merit, skills and competence, not based on targets for diversity, equity and inclusion. He pointed out how DEI had invaded our education system, saying that New Zealand First had set out to remove the relationship and sexual guidelines in schools and have done so.

He also mentioned stopping programmes of separatism such as He Puapua and co-governance, and they have done just that. Not so sure about the second point. Next up was the fight to stop men playing women’s sports, stop men going into women’s bathrooms and the use of puberty blockers for children.

The contents of his speech were exactly what his audience wanted to hear. They consisted mainly of the more mature members of our society that constitute the majority of his voters. The same applies to National but you’re unlikely to hear a speech of that nature coming from a National MP. Why is this?

The answer lies in a generational divide. Winston is of the same generation as his supporter base. Luxon, Willis and Bishop represent the woke generation and their views reflect this. It is these views that are hurting National, particularly when it comes to social policy and matters of race.

They could well take a leaf out of Winston’s book. National are doing some good work but it is overshadowed by some of their more woke ideas. This the sort of nonsense the woke left media dine out on. It is time for National to rethink how it views some domestic issues. Winston is completely on song with his followers. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for National. Their tune needs to change. And quicly.