To win the Labour leadership, David Cunliffe had to prove himself red-hot for reform. And he did. Frighteningly so. Since then he has been bursting forth with ideas to make New Zealand a better place. There will be baby bonuses, new rules for saving and investment, changes to Super and tax breaks for selected industries. On and on it goes. Change this, tweak that.
But Kiwis overwhelmingly don't want change. That's what Key delivers. Perfectly.
Key has stuck fast to every Clark-Cullen policy despite National's vehement opposition at their introduction. Interest-free student loans, Working for Families, the Emissions Trading Scheme.
More than that, Key has positioned National as centre-left in its policy mix. He has thereby squeezed down on Labour's vote. Cunliffe, having promised to be the red-hot reformer, can't now tack right and nor can he promise to do even less than Key. That would not be possible.
He is now flailing about promising new policy after new policy hoping that one or other of them will resonate and gain Labour traction. But here's his problem: if, perchance, he did hit upon a promised policy that gained voter support, Key would grab it and implement it. The kudos would go to Key. Key, to keep Labour out of office, will adopt any popular policy that Cunliffe hits upon.
That's exactly what Helen Clark did in reverse. She dropped her signature Closing the Gaps policy as soon as National in opposition gained traction attacking it. She knew she had to hug the centre and be mindful of voters' desire for stability and certainty. She kept away from the Greens.
I like and admire Key. A lot. But I am frustrated by his total lack of desire to fix things. That has always struck me as the point of politics. But then I was never much chop at winning votes.
And that is the real point of politics.
