Chippy as Mr Whippy and cold-caller of Kiwis on his last Sunday on the campaign trail
Don’t count Chippy out just yet.
That was roughly the messaging from Prime Minister Chris Hipkins as he toured the markets and shopping malls of Auckland today.
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Just a few days out from five days' isolation in an Auckland hotel room, Hipkins is keen to make up for lost time and mount a comeback after weeks of lagging in the polls.
A Curia poll on Friday showed the gap between the centre-left and centre-right narrowing, and it's in Hipkins’ best interest at this stage to double down on the close election narrative and convince the public he’s still very much on his feet.
“I think it’s going to be a close election,” he said today from a Labour phone bank in Onehunga. “There’s an awful lot that can happen in the course of a week.”
Hipkins stepped in and made a few calls at the phone bank. After what seemed like a few missed calls, he finally got a Labour supporter on the line and asked them if they’d voted.
Perhaps out of the shock of picking up the phone and suddenly finding themselves talking to the leader of the country, the person on the other end assured Hipkins they had voted and it was two ticks for Labour.
“Thank you, I’m feeling better,” Hipkins said down the phone. It's unclear whether that was a reference to his recent bout of Covid or his response to the person's voting choice.
But what Friday’s poll represented more than anything was the increasing likelihood that Winston Peters will play some role in negotiations following this weekend.
National’s Chris Bishop warned a hung Parliament with New Zealand First in the middle could result in a second election.
Hipkins came out strongly against that: “I just cannot see that being good for New Zealand… there is no justification for another election,” he said.
But if Peters finds himself in the ‘kingmaker’ role again, what options would be left for Hipkins? He’s come out very clearly already saying he would not work with New Zealand First – and Peters has done the same.
But in a situation where it was either go with Peters or go back to the polls, would Hipkins make the same choice as Luxon?
Asked if he would go back on his promise or opt for a second election, Hipkins said he’d been very clear about the fact that he’s not going to work with Peters, but at the same time would not say that he would go for the latter option.
“Christopher Luxon is the person who has left this door wide open. We ruled out working with Winston Peters some months ago, the fact that Christopher Luxon has breathed life into the New Zealand First campaign is really a question for him...”
Hipkins said a vote for Labour was the best choice for ensuring there is a stable government that doesn’t involve Peters.
But like all politicking, there’s a fair amount of wishful thinking behind that. Hipkins and Labour are still lagging in the polls even with one marginally more helpful result last week.
Hipkins is seizing the opportunity of National’s antipathy towards its coalition partner to paint them as chaotic and unstable.
It seems the resurgence of New Zealand First is going to be a thorn in the side of the two major parties' leaders right up until election day, and indeed afterwards if he does find himself across the negotiation table from one of the Chrises.
And time is running out.
With just a handful of days before the polls close, Hipkins has to use every hour at his disposal to get his face out in front of the voting public.
Sunday morning at Takapuna Market, that meant posing for a long line of photos, before disappearing into the back of a Mr Whippy truck co-owned by Labour North Shore candidate George Hampton and handing out double rainbow cones.
Hipkins will be hoping his sizeable grin across dozens of photos taken at Takapuna Market and Sylvia Park shopping mall will give some undecided voters the little push they need to first of all get to the polling booth and second, put a tick next to Labour.
It’s in Labour’s best interests to drive up voter turnout. In the past, a high voter turnout has usually correlated with a Labour victory.
Labour will be reaching for any tools left in the toolbox.
Sunday morning, former Prime Minister Helen Clark appeared in a video endorsing Hipkins and saying National’s policies would deepen poverty and inequality.
“I get it, that when times are tough it’s natural to look for change, but the question is, change to what? Change to tax cuts that deliver so little to people on low incomes? Tax cuts funded by skimping on the basic services Kiwis rely on?”
Clark seems well-aware of the grumbling about the Labour Government.
“No government is perfect, but I know that Chris Hipkins will work every day for you,” she said.
The Clark video comes just days after a similar endorsement for Luxon by former Prime Minister John Key.
But if the major parties are rolling out their celebrity leaders, there’s one big name currently missing for Hipkins.
He refused to give a straight answer on whether former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern would be releasing a similar video.
“I’m not going to release the final strategy of our last six days of campaigning, but you can expect to see a very visible and active campaign,” he said.
