A pun or just a gross miscalculation?

Clive Bibby

Opinion

My first reaction to the Prime Minister’s unveiling of Labour’s campaign slogan “In it for you” was in reflecting on the words of that famous judge of human character, Darryl Kerrigan from the Aussie classic “The Castle” — whose usual reaction to such hollow claims was, “Tell him he’s dreaming!”

It doesn’t take a wordsmith to see what Labour’s political opponents will do with this dog’s breakfast of a slogan.

My humble offering of an alternative that more accurately describes the situation this country finds itself in after six years of Labour-led coalition rule would be, “We’re in it (s..t) because of you.”

Even the most generous observer would struggle to associate this rubbish with the reality of most voters’ experience, when so much clandestine subterfuge has eroded the trust that had so overwhelmingly been granted this mob only three short years ago.

One of the hallmarks of our Kiwi society is an inherent ability to forgive governments for honest mistakes if they are owned up to by the perpetrators, with genuine attempts to compensate any citizen that was disadvantaged by this apparent mis-step.

It is an acknowledgement that we are all failed human beings (some more so than others) and we are prepared to move on in the hope that our leaders will get it right next time — if we allow them a next time!

But there are a couple of things we will not tolerate.

One is being lied to by those who have the power over our future, and the other is failing to show genuine contrition if deliberately hidden, controversial governance plans are exposed before they are adopted as intended without consultation.

The fact that this Government is guilty of both sackable offences and yet pretends its actions were always done with the nation’s best interests in mind, is an indication of why its position in the polls is becoming irretrievable.

The level of arrogance demonstrated at this week’s unveiling is symptomatic of a government that has abused its mandate and by so doing, the trust that is crucial to longevity in politics.

It is difficult to imagine another government that has fallen so far from the dizzy heights of its popularity at the last election. No other party has achieved more than 50 percent of the popular vote since the introduction of the MMP system of government — allowing it to govern on its own without the help of coalition partners. And yet it is more than a possibility that Labour will poll little more than half that number at this year’s general election in a few months time.

It is also fair to say that most of the decline is directly attributable to self-inflicted wounds which, in themselves, provide a warning for any incoming administration that you abuse the trust of the people, that is always conditional, at your peril.

It also is a reminder that in a democracy like ours, survival in a political sense is always at the discretion of the voters.

Labour looks like it is going to become collateral damage of its own deceit.

We’ll see.