Sunday Politics Andrea Vance

Go hard and go early. It’s our pandemic catchphrase. Buzzwords to sum up the collective effort to beat the novel coronavirus, Covid-19.

Jacinda Ardern repeats it over and over in her frequent press briefings. Our mission, pain, fight, stay the course and sacrifices. Other words that crop up regularly in the prime minister’s addresses.

It’s an iron fist, dressed up in velvety words.

In these extraordinary times, New Zealanders are being asked to do extraordinary things. Give up our freedoms, financial security, time with loved ones, and submit to digital surveillance and forced quarantine.

The alternative to this was a devastating level of death. But these incursions on our liberty have not been seen before in peace time. Why did New Zealanders comply so readily, when other countries have struggled to implement restrictions?

A large part of that is political leadership.

Ardern is recognised as an excellent communicator and her brand centres on positivity, kindness and empathy.

That helps: persistent messages of doom and gloom are not effective tools of mass persuasion.

But what she is asking of us is unpalatable, so the pill must be sugar-coated with unthreatening concepts like the bubble, the Easter Bunny and Nigel Latta.

The language and the message she uses would not be unfamiliar to war-time leaders.

This is being defined as our finest hour, when we sacrifice selfish desire and pull together for a common purpose and spirit. Our narrow and immediate self-interest has been subordinated for the greater good.

We are being asked to support a noble cause. This week, as the curve flattened, that has been reinforced. It is a noble – and successful – cause.

And this is a home-front sacrifice. What better way to unite New Zealanders than

Why did New Zealanders comply so readily, when other countries have struggled to implement restrictions?