National and Labour had their election campaign launches on the weekend. Here is Chris Hipkins pointing out what will happen with another term of National. (Transcript)
That’s what chaos costs you.
Three more years of drift. Three more years of cuts. Three more years of higher costs.
New Zealand can’t afford three more years of National.
There are things about that speech I can critique (and probably will in the comments). But more important, much more important, is changing the government in November.
Whatever our criticisms of Labour or the Greens, we can still vote strategically. Disappointed in Labour? Vote Green, and so on.
We can also work between now and when voting opens, to encourage people to vote Labour, Green or electorate vote Te Pāti Māori. In a tight election, every vote matters.
In an election campaign how we talk about the left parties, at work, with family and friends, socially, influences people’s thinking.
If we slag off the party we are disappointed in, we send the message to not for them, or to not vote at all. We can instead say we don’t like a policy or position but it’s still good to vote for this party or that one, for all the reasons Hipkins is talking about. We can still critique, but let’s not make it the only thing we do, nor the dominant voice.
Hipkins goes on to talk about what Labour will do, make a list, tell everyone about it.
I had a discussion about this recently on twitter, with some people loudly defending their right to slag off Labour. I was left with the distinct impression that their lives would not be fundamentally or materially affected if NACTFirst got another term. Mine would be, badly, and so would the lives of many, many other people. Eventually it will affect the middle classes as well as all the systems of New Zealand society come under Trumpian attack. Which at this point appears to be most of them.
Do we care about that? Then we need to talk up voting left.
Totally with you Weka on this.