Consider the past two years. We've had Covid and floods and $7 cabbages. Haven't we had enough fear? Now we have "attack politics", courtesy of the Council of Trade Unions. There, looming on billboards and videos and a front page wrap-around on the New Zealand Herald - plus a full-page ad inside - was the mug of National leader Christopher Luxon. He was supposed to look vaguely evil, like a cross between Hannibal Lecter and Uncle Fester from the Addams family.
"Out of touch. Too much risk." Ouch. Not really. The CTU needs to get snappier slogan writers.
Nasty and pathetic, said the National Party's campaign manager, Chris Bishop. The Nats are being thin-skinned, said Prime Minister Chris Hipkins. And no, of course he had no foreknowledge of the ads. Bishop was asked how Uncle Fester, oops, Luxon was "holding up" against such a personal attack. "Look, he's big enough and ugly enough to handle it," he said. As endorsements go, that wasn't much better than the CTU's.
Tough times require tough guys, man. Hipkins' "thin-skinned" is meant to imply that Luxon is not a tough guy and that Hipkins is a thick-skinned tough guy who could withstand being called names.
National will not stoop to such nasty measures. "I think I'm modelling out a very positive campaign," said Luxon. Which gives rise to an image of the Leader of the Opposition sitting in his shed making model planes out of balsa wood and chucking them at Hipkins.
Bishop assured the country, "We are not going to be making personal jibes and attacks on Chris Hipkins and other senior members of the Labour Party in our attack ads." Okay. So the Nats will be unleashing attack ads, which, apparently, are perfectly fine as long as they don't portray Hipkins as a menace. He does look rather like Dennis the Menace. An attack-ad consultant would charge big bucks for that genius suggestion.
Denne historien er fra September 16 - 22 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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Denne historien er fra September 16 - 22 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.
