Which is why Steven Joyce should have had it. And how many people now look back and concede that would have been a better choice?
The unfairness for Bridges is he didn't get a crack at an election. He did the crappy work, the hard yards, and got shafted with the finish line in sight.
And so to Todd Muller. What a job. Who is he? Is he any different from Bridges? He's liked, he's bright, but then so are many of them. Being affable isn't a skill, it's what you are born with.
The key here is, is there a magic? The X-factor? Is there something that transforms him from just another decent person who aspires to lead their party, and therefore their country, into a person who actually attracts votes, turns tides, explains things in a way people get? Is he something or someone that has that magnetic factor that marks you out as different from the rest?
That is what's needed now. The polls will close, they always do.
National are good at the economy, they always have been. But not only does Muller need to introduce himself, and convince enough people he has all the aforementioned qualities, but then he needs to set about dismantling the Government's approach to the economic catastrophe besetting this country.
Is he the Jacinda Ardern to Labour's Andrew Little? Who would know. He's not female or that young, and he's not as well known as she was.
If this is a salvage job, like they're merely looking to stem the flow, that's an easier job. But he claims he's not. If they're looking for a real chance at the big time, and he claims he is, they've taken a massive panicked risk. I wish them well.
Because above all else, no matter what side you're on, or who you support, it is critical like it never has been to have an effective, functioning, united and experienced opposition making the government honest, and offering genuine choice to the punter.
