“The fight for the Centre is really the fight for Mediocrity.”
— David Lange, quoted in Sunday Star Times, 20 Apr 2003.
I agree. Clearly, every mainstream political party wants to gain enough support from voters that it can command either a majority in Parliament or, at very least, the biggest single voting block. National is no different.
But we dare not do this by adopting policies which are lowest common denominator policies, satisfying neither to our traditional supporters nor to most others.
I am reminded of the Biblical injunction to be either hot or cold: “because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.” Perhaps that is what New Zealand voters decided last year – in giving the impression we were trying to be all things to all people, we lost support and respect.
Fortunately, the Caucus is very clear what the National Party stands for, and is increasingly articulating that vision in important areas of policy – the vital need to increase our rate of economic growth if we are to maintain an attractive society which our children and grandchildren will choose to live in; the need to end the widespread culture of dependency while providing compassionate support for those who genuinely need that support; the need to improve educational standards to sharply reduce currently high levels of illiteracy, through providing more opportunity for parental choice; and the need to clearly establish that, while New Zealanders are not all the same, all have equal rights and responsibilities before the law.
I have no doubt that the National Party can emerge from the next election as the largest party in Parliament, in a position to form a strong centre-right government. We all know that this won’t be accomplished by adopting policies which attempt to please everybody.
Copyright © 2024 Don Brash.