Andrew Little – Last Labour PM of NZ?

Bill
7 years ago
Categories: Andrew Little, class war, Economy, election 2017, elections, greens, Jeremy Corbyn, labour, liberalism, politicans, Politics, social democracy, uk politics
Tags: greens, labour, liberalism, prospects, Social Democracy

Assuming that Jeremy Corbyn becomes the next PM of the UK, social democracy will become an acceptable school of political thought again. By that, I simply mean it will be permissible – even expected – to build policy around the needs of society instead of around the needs of finance.

If NZ Labour forms the government following the upcoming NZ elections, and I think they probably will, it might be the last time that Labour forms the government of this country. And here’s why.

Just as the SNP tacked left into a social democratic space some years back and are now in their 10^th year of government, and just as UK Labour has tacked left to win office this year, and just as Sanders tacked left and gave the establishment the heeby jeebies, and just as Menchelon tacked left in the French Presidential race and got about 1/5^th of the vote while the established parties of France’s left and right disappeared, and just as Trudeau ran on leftist rhetoric to win office in Canada – the party that swings left first in NZ will be the party in the ascendancy .

And that party won’t be Labour.

Labour had its chance with Cunliffe and the caucus did everything it could to stamp and stomp on his deviation from liberal orthodoxy. They succeeded. And today the Labour Party caucus has the Labour Party by the throat. It really doesn’t matter how many people might join up to the NZ Labour Party with the hope of voting in a social democratic leader of the party. With the liberal dominated caucus holding 40% of the decision making power in any leadership selection process, they’re locked in. And if they’re locked in, then liberalism’s locked in.

But then there’s the Green Party (and others).

They may not have the time between June 8^th and the 23^rd of September this year to formulate and campaign on an overtly social democratic platform. But they do have the time to do that between this election and the next. And I sincerely hope that they do. Meantime, Labour’s going to be lugging an unwieldy liberal millstone around its neck and discovering that it’s stuck fast where it is

So Andrew, enjoy your three years as Prime Minister Little.