OPINION
Christopher Luxon says New Zealand has lost its mojo. He might have a point, writes New Zealand Herald Business Editor at Large, Liam Dann.
Whichever way you read the statistics, there is a malaise
National leader Christopher Luxon says New Zealand has lost its mojo. Photo / Paul Taylor
OPINION
Christopher Luxon says New Zealand has lost its mojo. He might have a point, writes New Zealand Herald Business Editor at Large, Liam Dann.
Whichever way you read the statistics, there is a malaise in our economy this year.
But what does mojo mean? Luxon uses the word regularly in his campaign speeches.
I think Kiwis mostly sort of know what mojo means, but not exactly.
Luxon is using mojo more broadly to refer to confidence and swagger, I think, Dann writes.
But there is no way around the implied sexuality of the word.
I think Luxon is implying that New Zealand has lost its virility. He’s promising to put a bit of lead back in our metaphoric pencil.
Read the full story: Liam Dann: Christopher Luxon wants to bring NZ’s mojo back - but what is mojo?
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He does mean bringing back a sense of entrepreneurship and risk. The last 6 years have killed it dead, from shopping bags, (which used to be a supermarket cost and is now a profit centre) to how much money you can borrow, from who can rent your property and you losing the right to control it, from adding regulation in every sphere.
You can’t even access well-known trading and investing platforms like eToro because of regulation, all just making it harder to do stuff to get ahead, race relations, polytechs, education in schools, housing, crime, national debt, nothing is better now than [in] 2017, but worst of all is our hand-out mentality. Tax anyone through the roof if they have got a couple of mill together over a lifetime.
This is a great place, the number one question to ask if you have nothing and want more is “How did that guy get that?”
Go ask him or her to then help vote in a government that wants to make it as accessible as possible to all those who want to have a go, that’s how we get our mojo back. - Bruce P
Clearly, Luxon is not making some sort of sexual reference when he uses the word “mojo”.
We all know that he means that we’ve lost our way, our self-belief, our ability to see beyond the mire that we now wallow in. Can he fix it?
Well, he’s got his work cut out for him but the real question to ask is whether we want more of the same or a change in direction. - Stephen T
Faced with a choice of a charismatic leader and a great technician, I’d choose the latter every time.
Mojo has virtually no meaning and even less relevance to fixing New Zealand’s problems.
What is required is careful technical management of bureaucracy and fiscal discipline.
Jacinda = charisma and mojo.
English and Luxon = technical and intellectual capability.
You choose but chasing charisma (mojo) has got us into the mess we’re currently in. - Harry B
I have always related “mojo” to “aspiration”, “can do” and “determination”.
Sadly in the midst of the past six years under this Labour Government, “aspiration” became about survival and “can do” became limited by the regulatory allowable and “determination” became stymied by political interference to a large degree.
In all aspects of living being individual, family, business or organisational our lives have been negatively impacted.
Not once has Labour attempted to hit the reset switch.
Now we are simply exhausted...awaiting change...lost faith...and desperately needing that reset switch.
If “mojo” is what it takes, then I warmly welcome Chris Luxon into the fold of new beginnings to restore this country back to being amazing. - Keith T
As a follower of international news, via several sources, I can see our situation is not much different to other nations we like to compare ourselves to.
Britain and Australia are suffering cost of living crises, escalating mortgage repayments, growing medical waiting lists, and growing crime rates.
The world went through an unprecedented war against disease.
Never before had the entire globe shut down commerce and immigration as it did.
This economic and social malaise is as global as the pandemic.
Luxon is a nice, well-meaning man but he’s no John Key and National has lost too many political stars since [Key] left. - Gina S
Oh dear, the Nats/Act supporters are out in force here.
All doom and gloom and with a cataclysmic view of NZ’s future unless there is a change in government [this] election.
I agree there will be that change but be assured there won’t be a new dawning as events which they will have no control over what they are going to dictate, what they are able to do, in pretty much the same way that events have largely driven this government.
NZ is but a thistledown blown wherever the winds of war, weather and geopolitical forces take us. So, hang on to your hats the roller coaster will continue. - Marie H
In reply to Marie H: Marie, whilst the economy might be affected by global financial conditions the internal divisions, overspending, wasted spending are the result of a Labour Government run by woefully incompetent people whose agenda has been diametrically different from the platform they were elected for. Never before has New Zealand seen such a poor group of individuals so lacking in political, commercial acumen or a desire to include all of New Zealand in its political dogma. - Steven S
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