Watch for the ‘no policy’ sexist attack on Jacinda by the right in the election
David Farrar is no longer sharing his polling information to various sites for Poll of Polls. The suggestion is he has stopped doing this because National are in deep trouble and he has seen the impact of the Jacinda effect coming through his polling.
Jacinda is doing so well connecting with a huge swathe of the NZ electorate that it isn’t silly to talk about a Labour Party in the early 40s.
If the Greens can bring in 7%, we could see a Labour+Green Government with no need of NZ First for a Parliamentary majority.
The Right are struggling with Jacinda just as the Left struggled with Key. “It’s about the policy” both sides screamed.
Sure, it is about the policy but as Key proved, if you have charisma and the ability to connect with voters emotionally, policy doesn’t mean a damned thing!
National have gotten away with a destructive property bubble fuelled on mass immigration that has crushed our underfunded social infrastructure while spiralling up prison populations, 41 000 homeless, a suicide rate 3 times higher than our officials admit, 300 000 children in poverty, 1600 dying from the cold each year, 90 000 young people not in education or employment and 550 000 NZers living with severe hardship.
Add on top of that mass surveillance lies and dirty politics, and all National needed was John to smile and wave.
Policy didn’t mean a damned thing.
In Jacinda’s case however, the ‘Labour don’t have policy’ is a bare faced lie to prop up the sexist dog whistle that the right are lining Jacinda up for.
To date Jacinda has announced 7 policies:
- Auckland light rail
- Water pricing
- Christchurch mental health
- Regional rail & road
- Pay equity
- The school leavers toolkit
The sexist subplot to this claim of no policy is that Jacinda is all appearance and no depth. It is a shallow stereotype that has no place in the modern world and it’s one that woman have faced their entire lives by a culture that pays them less and doesn’t value their skills.
Jacinda’s emotional intelligence, compassion based reasoning and ability to connect personally and empathetically to voters IS what Leadership actually is.
Look at the garbage a right wing columnist like Andrew Dickens has thrown up today in the NZ Herald…
Labour and Jacinda Ardern might scrape into power as long as they don’t speak about policy and keep the feeling of change rolling for another month.
I thought the “lipstick on a pig” controversy was manipulated magnificently by the left, keeping the focus on feelings and not facts. Gareth Morgan’s message was vote on policies not personalities. Fair enough. But the debate became centred on the second part of his tweet, which was a mildly offensive mis-placed euphemism. Was the left really horrified by the phrase? Or were the howls of outrage just noise to cover Labour’s Achilles heel of policy?
Yesterday in The PM Job Interview broadcast on nzherald.co.nz, Ardern kept well away from policy.
…the sexist subtext here is that Jacinda as a female leader is too shallow for the real job of deep policy Government. It’s a sexist dog whistle the right will be blowing from now until the election as the frantic realisation that Jacinda is connecting with voters on a level they simply can’t achieve starts looming large in the political psyche.
Jacinda’s popularity is based on hope, emotional intelligence, compassion based reasoning and the ability to connect personally and empathetically to voters. Painting her as emotional and flakey with no policy as Matthew Hooton did when she won the leadership is a sexist wishful fantasy on behalf of the right, and it should be shown the contempt it deserves at the ballot box next month.
yeah they will try this no polices bull but by now surely the left are and should be prepared to counteract this approach. For starters we have ‘there is no housing crisis’ gnats water policy , the half bake free trade deals TPP, selling and privatizing more of our assets gnats didn’t say they would sell our state houses, privatize education, introduce PPP for public hospitals( see Buller) run down our NZ post so they can then flick it of to their rich mates, there is so many holes they should be able to drive a truck through the tories policies or lack of and if they don’t do it Winston will at least he is good for something. I haven’t mention homelessness, inequalities ….
+1
Labour should release their manifesto the way that Jeremy Corbyn did in the UK – he too was accused of not having policy, but after the election, after the release of the Labour manifesto connected with voters in a very tangible way, Theresa May ended up asking Labour for policy ideas: Corbyn sent the Labour manifesto to help out
Jacinda putting the wind up the right wingers, means one thing. The Natz are having trouble keeping up. Great. The non show of the Farrar poll is a sure indication of this fact, when he’s keeping a tight lid on what’s there!
National is f@cked no matter what they do.
After nine years of slash and burn, their sudden election splurge looks nothing more than what it is – a desperate cynical bribe.
Their negative attack lines sound worn out and tired, and rebound against the “Let’s do this” campaign Labour are running. Fear mongering is “so last election” for the middle classes.
The do-nothing nine year Tory office party under all-smiles-no-substance Key has come crashing to an end. Now someone has to pay the DJ.
They have nothing positive to show for those years in power and nothing more to offer.
Their neoliberal ideological straitjacket is now strangling them to death.
Bye Bill.
There are some truths that can not be made into alternate facts.
Isn’t it great!!
Squirm worm!!
Oh, sorry not positive enough!!
They (right w(h)ingers) might need some of the new mental health budget after the election.
wanky nact home owners are holding society to ransom
Young are being held to ransom with high rents that should be going to pay for there own homes or food.
the poor and being held to ransom by having there health destroyed living in slums
Tax payers are being held to ransom by having to
pay out billions in rental supplement .
Savers are being held for ransom with record low interest rates and then thanks to national people with savings accounts are on the hook because of the open bank resolution policy if these wanky speculators default savers money will be used to bailout the banks wanky speculators are giving us the two fingers.
the whole economy is being held to ransom by nationals housing ponzi bubble
vote Jacinda hit back
When labour wins and Jacinda Ardern is PM watch how quick all the nobody scribes for National disappear. Watch how very quickly the MSM bow to the new order. The MSM needs a shake up in this country and the existing fawning celebrity class journo fakes are in for a shock.
I hope so Kat there are a number of reporters that need turfing out. Hopefully under the Lab/Greens independent broadcasting that John key removed will be reintroduced to make the big players like tvnz and 3 up their game. Media needs to be cleaned up and the rules governing it tightened up.
Their true-calling isn’t really journalism. It’s public relations. They all aspire to be the next Matthew Hooton. Relentless sycophants paid to defend the indefensible. I mean, that nest of vipers at Granny Herald are essentially performing the same function as it is. Doing their part to bring about the ruination of society using word processors in lieu of car bombs. I hope they all sleep well at night.
No no, they are beginning to realise the Public is the Piper, and the tune has changed, so they don’t sleep so well any more.
Well we could have an Angela Merkel ,… OK , she is a tough stoic woman, but it endeared people to her when a young person broke down in front of her and she felt compelled to comfort her…
Tough military generals in wartime are not above the stiff upper lip to show compassion to a wounded soldier in recovery. Its called Esprit de corp. Morale. Encouragement.
Good leaders recognize it. They are willing to dispense it. When the chips are down the people need that boost of encouragement.
I read what Andrew Dickens wrote … ” Labour and Jacinda Ardern might scrape into power as long as they don’t speak about policy and keep the feeling of change rolling for another month ”…
Poppycock.
Labour have been steadily releasing policy on a regular basis and have a whole website dedicated to it. There is no excuse to plead ignorance .
And certainly no excuse for that bit of convenient emotionally biased opinion piece . Dickens is playing exactly the same game he accuses Labour and Adern of playing . Except that in his case Labour have a solid base in fact . Dickens does not .
And that goes for all of these other detractors who accuse Labour / Adern of the same. It is just a convenient laziness of the truth. It is either a case of sloppy laziness in not researching what Labour holds as policy or that of political point scoring , – and even that born of desperation.
Even before Jacinda Adern took over before Andrew Little it was announced that these multinationals and corporate’s were going to be expected to pay their fair share of the tax burden under Labour , – that Labour will go after these characters and enforce their equitable payments in the form of taxation as a contribution towards the society from which they generate their profits.
And this is the type of fairness that have the far right in a state of panic.
The free lunch is over.
And so what if we have a uniquely New Zealand departure from austere looking and sounding leaders,… Aderns radiant personality could easily win influence here in NZ and on the global stage , – is that a bad thing?
Is warmth , amiability and openness an obstacle to international diplomacy?
She has displayed that amply , – and a very forceful , emphatic and determined side to her nature when required .
And all within a very very short space of time.
Adern will make a brilliant leader. And not just in New Zealand , – but on the world stage. Are we really willing to let a handful of local , jaded , necrotic , insular, self interested and politically motivated ideologues dictate to us what could possibly be a new era of New Zealand economic and cultural renaissance pass us by ?
My only hope is for the future ,… that with the weight of the concerns of leadership , … that with the predictable incoming spiteful and vindictive opposition with which Adern will inevitably be assaulted with , … that she never loses that wonderful buoyant radiance that has become her trademark.
Partly because , … it is exactly that very same quality that marks true leaders out above those of inferior quality.
Thank you Agree 1000%
Spot on article Martyn, you have got that so right.
As with the attack and demonisation of Metiria Turei, the attack on Jacinda Ardern will not be done by National Party mps and apparatchiks.
Rather, it will be done by their fellow-travellers in the conservative media; commentators; bloggers, et al.
The Nats will keep their hands clean whilst their operatives do the dirty work.
It’s called Plausible Deniability.
Expect more.
Yes, and as I said on another post. “They will be dangerous “
Gareth m says vote on policy not personality. Convenient as he would never win on his personality. Our current PM has one of the worst personalities in NZ politics and believe me he’s up against some pretty tough opposition.
Yes Martyn,
National has only one way to hurt Labour now, by “character assassination”
And as for National’s 2 billion surplus after they released their financial report we ask where is the money from all those asset sales??????
Truly this National mob are toast and need ejecting next month pronto.