English goes for Goldilocks option

So Prime Minister Bill English has stuck with John Key’s (presumed) preferred date of September 23 for the election – a sort of Goldilocks option.

Not too late, not too early . . . in fact just about right at almost exactly three years since the September 20, 2014 election.

Attention can now turn to English’s state of the nation speech in Auckland today, where he will flesh out his leadership style and vision – ’’what drives me’’ – to position himself as leader, not just the finance minister voters know so well.

But there will surely be some significant initiatives in the mix too, given National’s assault on the Labour-green state of the nation speeches for their absence of new policy.

September 23 has been the oddson date for months now, aside from a brief flurry of early election speculation when David Shearer quit and and there were possibilities of avoiding a byelection in Mt Albert by going to the voters earlier.

MPS in electorates who want to quit can now do so from March 23 without necessarily triggering a by-election . . . and Key and Labour’s David Cunliffe must be in poll position on the exit grid.

But others like Maurice Williamson and Chester Borrows, who might want to leave early too, may have to wait. National hasn’t got a big enough buffer in the House to have too many leave.

Meanwhile some of the themes – and be prepared to be bored by them before too long – have started to emerge.

English’s one word summary was ‘‘growth’’. But he also hammered the leftward drift and policy-free plans of Labour and the Greens . . . and seemed to love the suggestion that they were all about the ‘‘vibe’’ – though that was one reporter’s commentary on the Labour-green state of the nation speeches, not something the parties themselves were saying.

On the other side, Labour and the Greens are hammering English’s lack of ‘‘leadership’’ – on anything from his limp response to American President Donald Trump’s immigration announcements to not going to Waitangi and not standing a candidate in Mt Albert.

It’s a two-pronged message; to make English look weak and remind voters that the leader they liked so well – Key – is no longer there.

But now at least we know – and for that we can thank Key for setting the precedent of early announcements. Hopefully it is now a practice set in stone for future prime ministers from all sides of the House.

Labour leader Andrew Little said the party was ‘‘ready and raring to go so we can change the Government and build a better New Zealand’’.

Little said the party’s priorities would be the housing crisis, improving access to healthcare, and ‘‘building the world-class education system parents expect for their kids’’.

The party had learned ‘‘a heap of lessons’’ after its disastrous 2014 result, he said.

‘‘One is to be very clear to voters about what the make-up of a Labour-led government would look like. The other is to be clear about the priorities we stand for – giving people the chance of home ownership again who presently have no hope at all for that.’’

English’s claims that National was strongest on the economy did not stand up to its record, Little said. – Fairfax NZ