Why Jacinda should give a Little thanks
Now shouldn’t be the time for gnashing of teeth because New Zealand’s political climate change makes for exciting times.
Wow. It actually happened. The appetite for change that has swept the world, upending old orders and casting aside established ways of thinking, has finally reached our little corner.
The final crowning of Jacinda Ardern as New Zealand’s 40th Prime Minister was made possible this week thanks to Winston Peters choosing the Bloods over the Crips. He must now be the favourite uncle of the 54 per cent of voters who didn’t vote for the National party.
Sure, the 46 per cent of the people who did vote for the National party will continue to seethe with resentment until the next election in 2020.
The gnashing of teeth started barely hours after Peters made his decision. I might have to stop reading mainstream media and start living more in the real world, which is a less fraught and suspicious place than the one described by anguished Nationalvoting media columnists.
But the change of power will be made official later this week and then National Party supporters must do what Labour supporters have done for the past nine years – suck it up and hope for the best.
And really… surely that can’t be that hard a thing to do. It’s already been noted that in this term, due to Labour’s Rules of Budget Responsibility and the coalition deal, they will not be increasing taxes, or bringing in a capital gains tax or a water tax.
National voters should put that fearmongering to rest and could instead take comfort from the words of a former National Party cabinet minister Wayne Mapp.
While all of his Nats mates were upset, Mapp wrote: ‘‘Jacinda has the chance to remake the narrative of our country… Prime Ministers can embody the spirit of a nation. Jacinda Ardern will convey a sense of New Zealand as a dynamic young country where interesting things can happen.’’ Isn’t that a great thing? Cometh the hour, cometh the woman. Jacinda was born at the right time, and had the right experience, so that when her moment arrived – she was ready.
Hopefully at some stage before she has to get down to work as leader of the country, she will have a chance to sit down for a breather and a Milo, after barely three months in charge of the Labour Party. And among the many people that Ardern will thank, I hope a big high-five goes to former leader Andrew Little.
Along with being leader of one of the major political parties, comes the possibility that one day you could have the top job in the country.
That must be an exciting thought. Not just the ego boost that comes with the title of prime minister, but also the responsibility that you are in a position to create positive outcomes in the lives of your four million-plus fellow citizens.
But when the early polls didn’t look good, Little put his ego aside and sacrificed his ambitions for the good of the party. I don’t know how many men would have been able to do that.
The day though, belongs to Ardern. Change has come. And for the environment, and those suffering at the bottom end of our society, it couldn’t come soon enough.
National supporters must do what Labour supporters have done for the nine years – suck it up and hope for the best.’