Is the stardust over for Ardern?
2017. But the difference between then and now is that two years post-election there are footholds for attack. Criticism can gain traction. In many ways, this Government has been both ineffective and hypocritical. The KiwiBuild scheme and demotion of Housing Minister Phil Twyford is one example of a clear and damaging policy failure. The #MeToo scandal within the Labour Party has revealed what many who work in the area of sexual violence already knew, but is no less crushing – misconduct is rife, and the minimising of it, protection of alleged perpetrators, and diminishing of women continues unabated, no matter the organisation and its stated ethos.
We can’t, and may never, know whether Ardern knew of the true nature of the allegations. I would personally like to give her the benefit of the doubt and say I don’t think she did, but the uncertainty is there.
If there’s one thing the Left is really good at, it’s cannibalising itself. It’s very possible a large majority of National and even swing voters care little about #MeToo. They might not be fazed that Ardern was a noshow at Ihuma¯ tao, or that she presides over a child protection agency that removes three Ma¯ ori babies a week from their parents. But plenty of those who voted for Ardern in 2017 do care about these things, and time will tell how much damage inaction on these issues will have wrought.
There have been gains. Sexual and domestic violence is firmly on the agenda. So is mental health for the first time in forever. Ardern’s child poverty legislation is over the line and her $5.5 billion families’ package was an early success. Parental leave has been extended and abortion law reform finally looks possible. Ardern and her Government have placed contemporary issues like gender equality and climate change front and centre, and that should be commended.
But how tangible is this to the lives of everyday New Zealanders? Are we willing to back Ardern all the way, or has the stardust
truly settled?