So What Have We Learned Since Saturday?

/ 28 November, 2011
  • John Key says the election has delivered him a mandate for asset sales, even though National got less than half the vote. On that argument Labour also has a mandate for raising the retirement age and for a capital gains tax.
  • People who didn’t vote for the party I voted for are stupid. Just stupid. Now I don’t have to examine why they voted that way, because… well, they’re just idiots, you idiot!
  • The Maori Party say they are opposed to asset sales and won’t vote for them. How very brave of them to show some spirit. Even if that spirit lasts about five minutes.
  • The 5% MMP threshold needs to be reduced. The only +1% party to miss out this time around is Colin Craig’s Conservative Party. Surely Mr Craig should be entitled to expect a better return on his money.
  • Everyone on the right from the PM to bloggers seems to have a pet opinion on who the next Labour leader should be. We should listen to their views, because they only have the good of the Labour Party in mind.
  • As awful and as crashing as Labour’s defeat was, quite a lot of people still voted for them. 27% may not sound like much, but it’s still much more than all the other opposition parties combined. If they had increased their vote by a quarter they might have been in a position to form a government right about now. So things need to change, but it’s hardly the death of the party.
  • Chances are this is National’s high point. John Key will have trouble convincing people from now on that everything bad is Labour’s fault. He will have to find another scapegoat. My pick is the Greeks.
  • As much as we may all hate Winston, he can’t do too much damage in opposition. In fact, he’ll probably turn out to be John Key’s worst nightmare in the House.
  • For all the talk about the fresh faces in the National caucus, there’s still no obvious successor to John Key.
  • People stayed home from the election in their thousands. Not exactly a vote of confidence in the Opposition, but what does it say about the government?  At best it is a resounding “Meh”.
  • Some potential Labour leadership candidates are highly vulnerable to attack over their pasts. Imagine the attacks from the right if David Shearer became Labour leader: “Shearer claimed to have saved 20 million lives in his role as UN Humanitarian Coordinator, but he only saved 15 million! Liar! How can this man be trusted?”
  • Despite Labour’s defeat the sun still came out on Sunday. That hot scorching vicious bitch of a sun!
  • Tau Henare is still a list MP. I am happy.
  • I will not be the next Labour leader. That I promise you.

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