Local Bodies

I have looked at election polling for the last four elections and have noticed a concerning pattern. The Green Party's polling leading up to each election is stronger than what they actually achieve, then the poll immediately afterwards is always considerably higher. For most parties the opposite is generally the case. For New Zealand First and Act this is especially true.  In 2008 the Green Party's vote was 6.72% and the post election poll showed 9.5% support, almost 3 points higher. However, NZ First lost 1.2% in the after-match poll. In 2011 the Green vote was 11.06 and post election it jumped to 14.5. NZ First dropped 1.59 points and Act dropped by 1.4. In 2014  The Green vote was 10.7 but post election it leaped to 17.5. NZ First dropped 1.66 points and Act dropped .19 after not even getting 1% support.  In 2017  The Green Party vote was 6.3 and post election it jumped to 11. NZ First dropped .7 and Act remained the same at .5%. I remember in 2014 that Labour was doing p

New Zealand is not the United States, thank goodness. We don't have the same level of political partisanship nor public media outlets that blatantly display political bias. However, during the closing weeks of this campaign I do feel an infection of trumpism is evident. Judith Collins and her National Party are clearly struggling in the polls, there have been a number of campaign clangers  and she has resorted to personal attacks. Attacking a popular Prime Minister who is globally revered has been problematic so she has resorted to venting her spleen at the Green Party instead.  According to Collins the Green's dreaded wealth tax is the biggest threat to the world as we know it, most of the Greens are unemployable and god help our country if James Shaw or Marama Davidson became Deputy Prime Minister. Her ludicrous assertions reminded me of when Bill English, several elections ago, asked an audience to imagine a Green Minister of anything, clearly implying that it would be a na