Steve Baron: A Political Love Affair

Once upon a time, I fell madly in love. She was the most gorgeous, intelligent and successful woman I had ever met—she changed my life forever. Unfortunately, she went back to the devil she knew rather than the devil she didn’t. Obviously, she wasn’t happy in her previous relationship, just as many voters aren’t always happy with the government.

Like this woman, we get tired of being dominated, controlled, manipulated, threatened and cheated on, so we flirt with something else to fill that empty chasm. In New Zealand politics, there have been numerous third parties like Social Credit and New Zealand First. These flirtations have all come and gone and come back again, but ultimately, we keep returning to one of the two major parties.

We keep going back for more punishment, election after election. Every election, they beg and plead with us and always promise to change their ways, but they rarely do. Alas, even though we know we can’t really trust them any more and our love for them is not the same it once was, we give them yet another chance.

A Den of Iniquity

Our memories are very short. Over the years, parliament has become a den of iniquity, full of broken election promises, ignored referendums, abuse of taxpayer money, fraud, racism, physical violence and arrogance. Just like some marriages, I guess.

Falling voter turnout only goes to prove the lack of trust New Zealanders have in their political system and their politicians. It is a damning indictment of our so-called democracy that only 73.83% of those registered to vote even bothered to do so. This is the lowest turnout since 1887. When you also take off the number of people who qualified to register to vote but did not even bother to register (even though by law they have to), this figure drops even further, probably around another 5%.

So that puts the voter turnout in the 65-70% range! If we take National’s share of this, then only around 30-35% of New Zealanders actually supported the National Party—hardly a legitimate mandate to implement all of its proposed policies, even though they are the more favoured party.

Time to Move On

We complain, moan and groan, but mostly we grin and bear it. Will we ever move on from this, or are we destined to keep repeating history ad infinitum? What can we do about it anyway? This is our lot and we just have to accept it, don’t we? Well, no, we don’t. We need to be prepared to make a stand, take back the control we have abdicated, become more aware, and more outspoken. We must become, as some academics have referred to as the gladiators of society. The politically active and motivated who are not prepared to let politicians do all the thinking for them.

For me, I’ve moved on, I no longer have blind faith in any one political party, which makes it harder each election to decide whom to vote for. They all have their good and bad points. I want more say on issues that can profoundly affect my life. I haven’t given up on love or politics. I will continue to comment, provoke and suggest new ideas, but I may even decide to join the 26% of non-voters next election (it wouldn’t be my first time either) in refusing to vote.

Some will argue that if I’m not prepared to vote, then I can’t complain. However, like workers who can withhold their labour when they are being unjustly treated, I can withhold my vote. Just like in a marriage, sexual favours can be withheld, so sorry, National and Labour, I’m not in the mood, I feel a headache coming on in 2014.

Published in the Cambridge News, December 2011.

Steve Baron is a New Zealand-based political commentator and author. He holds a BA with a double major in Economics and Political Science from the University of Waikato and an Honours Degree in Political Science from Victoria University of Wellington. A former businessman in the advertising industry, he founded the political lobby group Better Democracy NZ. https://stevebaron.co.nz