Cynicism
On occasion, Parliament is a completely cynical place. People who work there think and say to each other things that ordinary Kiwis wouldn’t dream of thinking or saying. One such case was when David Lange went into hospital last week. I’m sure that both Labour and National strategists thought, “How is this going to play out politically? Will it be good for Labour, because Kiwis love the cuddly old bear that is David Lange, and the feel-good stuff he did on nuclear weapons? Or will it be bad for Labour, because Lange is a reminder of the Fourth Labour Government whose policies came to despise?�
Well, this cynical thought process has made its way into today’s Herald on Sunday, which has an exclusive interview with Lange from his hospital bed.
In it, Lange hits out at the Right’s attack on New Zealand’s anti-nuclear legislation:
The nuclear-free philosophy has been in effect for 20 years; the legislation has been left substantially unaltered.
When I heard about the proposal to have a debate and a vote on it being rejected, I wanted to get out of bed and get a wheelchair to Wellington.
Don Brash is trying to deflect the anti-nuclear legislation as an election issue, saying that the only people who think there’s a debate going on about it are in the Labour Party. Which is massively disingenuous. If National really didn’t want to make the anti-nuclear legislation, it would say: “We’re not going to scrap it. No ifs, no buts.� It decided not to, and now must face the consequences.
As to the point of whether Lange’s illness will help or hinder Labour, Nigel Roberts of Victoria University thinks the former. He says:
He was – and still is – a person who New Zealanders have a great deal of affection for. And by and large we don’t feel affection for our prime ministers, so that is quite a powerful emotion.
The very fact that his illness, sadly, has brought him back into the limelight cannot help Labour’s chances. Given that the nuclear-free debate has already surfaced in this campaign, it makes it even more difficult for National to avoid the issue.
Well, whatever the politics of his illness, I’m sure Kiwis of all political persuasions will wish Lange the best. Get better soon, mate.
July 31st, 2005 at 10:46 am
fwwog, Lange not going to get better,
does your post mean
Lange illness ‘can not help labour’ as stated or is it supposed to be can not but help labour,
July 31st, 2005 at 11:39 am
I have to say I have not even spent a second considering what impact Lange’s death could have on the campaign. Frog obviously has spent a lot of time considering this.
The irony is that Lange himself was bitterly against including nuclear powered ships in the ban.