Covid backlash highlights how emotionally fraught 2020 election will be 

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The surprise Labour supporters are making online over the backlash to this Covid case is ignoring the power of the sense of sacrifice NZers feel they gave for this lockdown.

This flair up is a reminder that this election is different, that peoples vulnerability and gratitude and anger can all be triggered if voters feel that their sacrifice has been taken for granted by incompetence.

I don’t believe this changes the likelihood of a majority Labour Government in September as I doubt greatly these two woman will have started anything that can’t be controlled, but it is a cautionary tale of what happens when you generate an emotional attachment to vote as opposed to an intellectual one, if you disappoint a voter who is emotionally engaged they will turn angrily on you if they feel their gratitude and sacrifice aren’t being respected.

This election is being decided upon emotion because the voters have had this unique universal experience and feel emotionally invested in the decision making.

Jacinda has to express disappointment, pledge to do better and privately unleash an army of bover boys and fixers into the quarantine process and ensure it’s protecting us.

 

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15 COMMENTS

  1. Just watching a replay of Parliament TV, dirty politics is alive and well. Woodward has stated he has a reliable source that stated they had a cuddle and a kiss with the two covid women who were given compassionate leave. Ruth Dyson quite rightly yelled at Woodward that he was lying and he never ever attempted to repel her assertion. This is fucking filthy behaviour considering the country is dealing with deaths and a pandemic. It just shows how low and how unethical Woodward and National are and the integrity Woodward has. For those that are willing to argue the point, then Woodward should name his source.

    • At some stage you need to except your side have stuffed up .It has now come to light that 10 people were let out after 7 days to attend a funeral in Chch who had not been tested and a group off an overseasa boat were allowed to wander into town down South.
      Jacinda cannot be everywhere and she should be able to rely on her Ministers to do their job .Once again Clark has let her down .How many chances does he get
      . We have all given up so much to get here it cannot be for nothing .

      • “At some stage you need to except your side have stuffed up…..”
        Oh how the Nat trolls, inside and outside of parliament are panicking and grasping at straws. Going to be a lot of blue ribbons in tatters post Sept 19…….Trev.

      • I think when you talk stuffed up, it sounds like an end point. No, mistakes have been made by a number of people, though if the processes were in place but weren’t followed, you can narrow dont who was personally responsible. How Clark is personally responsible is beyond even the simple minded.
        For those on the political right, where was the personal responsibility of the two British women and why on earth did Woodhouse wait until question time to raise this other than to political point score. That was particularly dangerous New View and rather immature. New View I read your posts and believe it is you that needs waking up.In fact they appear old neoliberal views.

    • Bert. Grow up. Why would Ruth Dyson accuse Woodhouse of lying. Because she new he wouldn’t name his source. If you think labour isn’t capable of politicising these sorts of incidents you’re blinkered up tight. Do you really think Woodhouse would make this up and put his long political career on the line. Wake up Bert. Woodhouse even admitted on the Project show that he was trying to score points with this because that’s his job. He also said it’s unacceptable and if these women did have other contacts on their trip south we need to know about it. So instead of you politicising this incident let’s find out what really happened here.

      • Geez Trev tell me why it’s Clarks fault again? Did he personally not test these two women? Yes there have been mistakes and Ardern has said they will fix these, any problems with that? It appears those on the right won’t be satisfied until Clarks head has been chopped off. I do recall both Brownlee and Collins still in parliament after the airport and Orivida episodes.
        So apologies to Woodhouse are indeed in order it seems. Therefore in fact it was the two travelling women who lied in that they stated that they had not been in contact with anyone else. when in fact they had. So these two put our whole country at risk also.
        New View, you truly are extremely naive. 12 years is hardly a long political career.

        • For the countries sake I want to see a National government but I do not want it to happen due to Labour falling down on the follow up to the good work they did to safeguard from the virus and further damaging our economy. It is in the hands of Labour supporters to point out when they fail and not be afraid to call out the problems. It seems now the lid has been lifted on one case there are in fact a number of errors coming to light.

          • “For the countries sake I want to see a National government”

            But why Trevor, wasn’t the evidence of 9 years of a country going backwards enough for you because as a country a few benefited whilst the majority didn’t? Surely that can only be seen as a massive failure. If you read my posts, I have admitted Labour have made mistakes, however, the biggest mistake would be to vote in a National government that was punitive for the most part. As for David Clark he has made childhood mistakes but asking for his head on this occasion is absurd.

  2. “Jacinda has to express disappointment, pledge to do better and privately unleash an army of bover boys and fixers into the quarantine process and ensure it’s protecting us”

    She’s now done just that, and hopefully it might send a message – not just to “officials”, but also to some members in her own party, and to the public. They might now realise all this isn’t a joke.

    Bit of a shame she didn’t get out that Mark Richardson index finger a while ago cos she’s running out of time.
    Although I agree Labour (as things stand) will get a big proportion of the vote, there are a few things that could escalate to the point of causing real damage.

  3. ” This election is being decided upon emotion because the voters have had this unique universal experience and feel emotionally invested in the decision making”
    Emotion is never a good starting point when you need to make a sound decision when voting for the government we will need for the next three years.
    But to contradict myself here it is the choice of the two evils both wedded to the market who is their governing master inn any decision they make.
    It is either the smiling girl from Murapara or the guy with no hair who said in coming into parliament the more i observe society the more my appreciation grows.
    https://www.parliament.nz/en/mps-and-electorates/members-of-parliament/muller-todd/

  4. It really is funny to see Clark saying he’s disappointed in the officials who let them out. The people responsible probably got fired. Oh the ironing.

  5. Yes someone stuffed up badly with this. People administering the isolation have let us down badly. Incredible incompetence

    Also put some responsibility at the door of those abusing the system. In that I include the two women with covid who completely overlooked that they were a risk when they had come from a high risk country

  6. What is becoming crystal clear is there has been a real lack of oversight and review right up to the Prime Minister’s office with regards to the health approach. This was always (along with the economic disaster) going to be the government’s greatest threat. When you manipulate the narrative when things are going in your favor, when the worm turns then there is nowhere you can go – you own the problem.

    As Martyn is pointing out (and I assume we will see more of in the next few days) is that systemic failure of our health system will be the government’s issue alone to deal with. Woodhouse, despite not being my cup of tea is a competent opposition MP and has the ability to exploit this issue should it become firmly established. Unfortunately Laurel & Hardy (Muller and Kaye) will want into the party and don’t have the ability to hammer these issues home.

    Do I think this is a major problem – not yet. The key issue will be community transmission and if any further hospitalization/deaths will come out of this. This is extremely low risk at the moment however as we have seen things can rapidly escalate. If they do you could have Duffy Duck as the leader of the opposition and he would still get momentum.

    Meantime over at the Standard – crickets…….

  7. We live in insanely sensitive political times. National had their National Standards in schools where kids were to be measured on whether they could read and write and teachers were to be burned at the stake if the right levels weren’t reached.

    Incidental qualities like resilience and the ability to be rational, considered, calm, empathetic, the ability to see different perspectives and be co-operative? They were off the important list, they’d take care of themselves.

    We live in mindless, reactionary, intolerant, times. Parents who are mindless, reactionary and intolerant are bringing up their kids to be the same.

    Something like the quarantine situation happens and there’s a frenzy, an hysterical crazed reaction. As usual like any situation when something shouldn’t have happened, or should have happened differently, someone must to be punished. The more the better, the bloodier the better.

    What the hell is it about us that has the need for blame and punishment as a prime driver of the way life must be lived?

Comments are closed.