The hard left Daily Blog is so detached from power that it has forgotten that an effective opposition can slow governments down, sometimes to a dead stop. Stealing the opposition’s policies is a basic political skill. 
Watching a third term government fight like a cornered animal against an effective opposition in with a good chance of winning the next election is an ugly sight for those who do not like the sight of blood. The current third term government in New Zealand is not particularly tired and certainly is not facing an effective opposition smelling victory at the next election.
This far left blog has little appreciation of the median voter theorem and the propensity of political parties that actually win power to position themselves closely to each other. For that reason, governments are hesitant to adopt policies that take them too far away from what the opposition might do in response and thereby win votes in the next election.
The hard left has little knowledge of this because it really participates in putting up an effective opposition to government policies. Little of what the hard left says appeals to the median voter so a National party government does not have to worry much about what are the hard left says in opposition to its policies. The high left opposing a policy changes few votes.
Housing affordability New Zealand is an obvious example of the power of an effective opposition party. The National party-led government is unwilling to take risks for fear of losing votes to the opposition Labour Party at the next election. New Zealand election is always close because of MMP. Winning margins are one or two seats.
One of the great complaints against the British Labour Party now by ordinary voters including those are never vote for them is that the Tory government faces no effective opposition to their plans and because there is no effective opposition, there is no break on what they could do. They are not challenged; their ideas are not being tested in Parliament and elsewhere and perhaps found wanting.
A leading reason for the mass resignations from the shadow cabinet recently was the lack of an effective opposition to government policies was letting the Tories have a free reign. The first step in slowing the Tories down is having a leader in the opposition who is not widely regarded as a clown.

Recent Comments