Election campaign piquing interest

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

As the fallout continues from the Council of Trade Unions attack ad on National Party leader Christopher Luxon, some political commentators are wondering what happens next.

The CTU ad was certainly dramatic, taking over the front page of the New Zealand Herald and running on social media as well as billboards nationwide, criticising Luxon as being “Out of touch. Too much risk.”

The dark picture shows Luxon looking somewhat like the former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says he did not know about the ad until it appeared and the CTU says it was clearly labelled as an advertisement. It has also launched a new website repeating the claims.

While it is officially separate from the Labour Party, the CTU is obviously a supporter. It has registered as a third-party promoter for the election period which gives it a spending limit of $391,000 for the campaign.

National Party campaign chairman Chris Bishop says the CTU should be ashamed of the ads. He accused it of a highly orchestrated, highly choreographed American-style hatchet job on Luxon and not something New Zealanders wanted.

CTU president Richard Wagstaff denies it is a hatchet job, saying the union’s campaign was focused on National’s policies and denied that the focus on Luxon personally was unfair.

Hipkins has accused National of being thin-skinned on this issue but a number of political commentators are warning the 2023 election campaign is likely to continue to be a negative one.

It is also echoing American politics with such a focus on the leaders of the two main parties. How important will the television debates be?

Also in the background are right-wing lobby groups like the Taxpayer’s Union and Hobson’s Pledge. The latter has a number of statements on its web page, including New Zealand not Aotearoa and Equal Health Care for All Races. It has also set up a “We Belong Aotearoa” website and Facebook page with a stated purpose to “whiria te tāngata”, weave the people together. Targeted at immigrants, it will no doubt be more explicit in future as to its purpose — opposing co-governance.

On top of all this is social media where any number of misinformation posts can be made.

While some of their supporters will want to see a matching response, a wiser course for National might be to let the public decide. There would be a large percentage in the vital undecided group who do not like this sort of campaign. There is a risk the CTU has shot itself in the foot and may do more harm than help Labour.

With wild cards like the Freedom NZ grouping and Winston Peters in the mix, this will certainly be one of the most interesting election campaigns.