It should have been a close vote, given last week’s polls. But it seems money talks and sizeable donations to the National party, coupled with a mood for change, means we saw a very defeated Labour party on election night in New Zealand.
Labour’s poor showing was largely due to running a very meek and mild campaign until near the very end, and running scared of its own record in government. Chris Hipkins, the toppled prime minister, seems to have refused to run on Labour’s legacy in combating Covid until the last minutes of the campaign – presumably because he did not want to be overshadowed by the legacy of his predecessor, Jacinda Ardern.
