What to expect in the leaders’ debates
A muted election campaign means the upcoming leader debates take on more significance than ever, says a veteran political insider.
‘‘I think they’re always important, but this time they could be more important,’’ pollster and previous Labour campaigner Stephen Mills told Tick. Tick, Stuff’s election podcast.
With the pandemic response limiting politicians’ options and restricting crowd sizes, there are fewer opportunities for leaders to create memorable ‘‘moments’’.
‘‘All those moments have been filtered out of the campaign to date. I think Covid has also suppressed the political rhetoric a bit as well, so people are being more careful and polite.’’
That puts more pressure on the leader debates, which begin this week, with round one hosted by John Campbell on TVNZ tomorrow, featuring Labour’s Jacinda Ardern against National’s Judith Collins.
Round two, on Three, hosted by Patrick Gower, is on September 30, followed by The PressStuff debate hosted by Luke
Malpass and Kamala Hayman on October 6.
The final square-off is back on TVNZ on October 15, hosted by Jessica Mutch McKay.
Behind in the polls, National will be looking to make use of the debates to create momentum, says Mills, executive director of UMR Research.
‘‘They almost need a king hit, which is really hard, but they certainly need a win much more than Labour does.’’
With the pressure on the leaders comes pressure on the moderators of the debates, too.
Mihingarangi Forbes, host of
Newshub’s Hui Po¯ti 2020 Ma¯ori electorate debates, says it’s not so much her decades of experience as a journalist which comes to the fore when she’s running debates.
‘‘It’s more kind of juggling balls in the air, and the closest experience I can think of is just managing houses and children – fights, scraps,’’ Forbes told Tick. Tick.
Tick. Tick: Stuff’s 2020 election podcast is hosted by Stuff journalists Adam Dudding and Eugene Bingham. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Adam or Eugene on Twitter or email them at ticktick@stuff.co.nz