Logging into Facebook this time last week, you'd have thought the sky had fallen: the Nats were in, the left had bombed, and the country was doomed.
The hyperbole and ugliness extended both ways. More than a couple of smug National supporters encumbered my newsfeed with self-satisfied swank. I don't think I've ever experienced such an aggressive partisan divide between ordinary New Zealand voters.
Of all the griping and gloating online, perhaps the only universal vilification of all the Facebook fallout was reserved for a friend who admitted to not having even known about the election.
"It's nice to not have a clue what is happening in New Zealand," he posted. "It's even better not to care, because then you can't feel disappointed."
From subsequent posts it became clear he's been through a bit lately - living in his car, getting by on tinned tuna and Weetbix and only showering at the gym; circumstances that might've provided all the more reason to get politically active, you'd have thought.
