But what happens when that vision strays deep into the realm of fantasy?
The line separating hope and deception can be perilously thin, and Labour provides a case study of how unrealistic promises can come back to haunt a government.
That said, there is a danger for all parties – left, right and centre – to promise more than they could ever realistically deliver. So especially in the context of this year’s election and a possible change of government, we should learn a lesson about what went wrong last time.
In 2017, Labour campaigned on grandiose ideals but also pledged fiscal restraint.
Voters, perhaps tired of the status quo or charmed by the charisma of the party’s leadership, chose to believe.
Labour’s campaign was highly aspirational. From abolishing child poverty to making rivers swimmable, from the ‘nuclear-free moment’ of tackling climate change to building Auckland light rail, and from making housing affordable to bringing tertiary education to more students: there was no shortage of lofty pledges and promises.
But Labour wanted to achieve all these goals on a shoestring budget. In the end, however, it increased spending substantially while failing, mostly, on delivery.
Covid does not explain this failure. As we show in our new paper, Labour’s costly lack of delivery was well-established before Covid and continued as Covid abated.
Future historians may conclude that the Sixth Labour Government collapsed under the weight of its own contradictions.
There was no coherent plan. There was no realism behind their ‘Let’s do this’ rhetoric of ambition.
The damage this Government has created is wide-ranging. Not least is the frustration and cynicism it has created around democracy.
When a party’s pledges are shown to be based more on fantasy than on achievable goals, not only does the party lose credibility, but it also sows seeds of doubt in the political system itself. And that trust, once lost, is hard to regain.
Labour’s conundrum should serve as a cautionary tale for politicians everywhere – National included. It might be tempting to win votes through grandiose plans, but the costs of over-promising and under-delivering can be dire.
New Zealand deserved better last time, and it deserves better now.
Dr Oliver Hartwich is the Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative think tank. This article was first published HERE. - where this article was sourced.
That said, there is a danger for all parties – left, right and centre – to promise more than they could ever realistically deliver. So especially in the context of this year’s election and a possible change of government, we should learn a lesson about what went wrong last time.
In 2017, Labour campaigned on grandiose ideals but also pledged fiscal restraint.
Voters, perhaps tired of the status quo or charmed by the charisma of the party’s leadership, chose to believe.
Labour’s campaign was highly aspirational. From abolishing child poverty to making rivers swimmable, from the ‘nuclear-free moment’ of tackling climate change to building Auckland light rail, and from making housing affordable to bringing tertiary education to more students: there was no shortage of lofty pledges and promises.
But Labour wanted to achieve all these goals on a shoestring budget. In the end, however, it increased spending substantially while failing, mostly, on delivery.
Covid does not explain this failure. As we show in our new paper, Labour’s costly lack of delivery was well-established before Covid and continued as Covid abated.
Future historians may conclude that the Sixth Labour Government collapsed under the weight of its own contradictions.
There was no coherent plan. There was no realism behind their ‘Let’s do this’ rhetoric of ambition.
The damage this Government has created is wide-ranging. Not least is the frustration and cynicism it has created around democracy.
When a party’s pledges are shown to be based more on fantasy than on achievable goals, not only does the party lose credibility, but it also sows seeds of doubt in the political system itself. And that trust, once lost, is hard to regain.
Labour’s conundrum should serve as a cautionary tale for politicians everywhere – National included. It might be tempting to win votes through grandiose plans, but the costs of over-promising and under-delivering can be dire.
New Zealand deserved better last time, and it deserves better now.
Dr Oliver Hartwich is the Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative think tank. This article was first published HERE. - where this article was sourced.
4 comments:
The only thing that can be delivered fast and with efficiency is cost saving.
The saved funds can then be distributed by a process known as tax reduction, from there you end up with 5 million people with their own money spending it like it is their money. Carefully!
We have a Corporate State, otherwise known as government. The word govern comes from the Latin gubernare, meaning; to direct, rule, guide, or govern. The ment in the close of the word government comes from the French mentum, which is a process. A process of what? If you go deeper into its Latin root form; men, you will see that it is a thinking process. So, for the too-busy citizen or person who does not administer their affairs, the word government means to rule over your thinking processes. In short, control your mind. If you pull apart the Latin components of this word and align it with the way government or corporate policy marketing works today, you may construct this sentence; some people believe government is lawful governance, but that is mentir (to lie). Government is the control of the mind through policy marketing rhetoric, don’t agree? What circus act do you think you’re watching?
Yet again the claim Labour won 2017. Surely a better analysis would be the voters wanted Nat/Act, but hoped that perhaps NZ First would be some sort of a handbrake at the same time.
Instead we got a woefully unprepared government that had made wild claims of what it would do. All on the assumption it would never win and be expected to deliver.
CXH , there is I think more than a grain of truth in what CXH said. I've never been a labor socialist fan, never voted for them but have to say they could have done something for nz if they weren't so blinded by their own ridiculous ideologies. Always been a huge failing of labor socialists and then of course they always run out of other people's money to spend. This lot particularly bad on that. Their great ability to waste others money was only matched by their complete and utter lack of ability at absolutely everything they tried to do. Worst govt coalition ever in the history of nz
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