What is it with the National Party and its candidates. No matter what happens this is the weakest and most amateurish campaign I have seen National run since at least 2002 and the results then were pretty conclusive.
Putting to one side Bill English’s clear charisma gap this year I thought National would put up a fight and select candidates who could actually threaten Labour in its seats. After all not that long ago National was polling close to 50% and Labour’s polling was not very good so anything could have been possible.
But out west National’s campaign has been anaemic.
It is that bad right now that National’s Kelston and New Lynn candidates are refusing to accept invitations to debates. The local paper Western Leader wanted to put on a public meeting that would be televised on facebook but our intrepid Kelston and New Lynn National candidates declined.
This should be a no brainer. If you get a chance to talk to people to spread the good word and get party votes then you should take every opportunity to do so. Especially if you are Paulo Garcia and you have a chance of being elected on the list if the party vote holds up. If that is the case you should be doing the mahi every day.
But it appears that Garcia is rather shy which is not a good thing if you want to be a politician. He is even reluctant to talk to the Herald. Pro tip, if you are a candidate and get the chance to be interviewed by the Herald you should drop everything and make sure that you can accept the offer. As soon as possible.
From David Fisher at the Herald:
Getting hold of Garcia to ask why he deserves that seat isn’t easy. Messages are left unanswered, resulting in a call from National’s campaign coordinator Clark Hennessy wanting to know why the NZ Herald wants to talk to him.
It could be nervousness about Garcia’s anti-abortion stance, or his comments about sex being only for procreation.
Hennessy wants to know questions. The NZ Herald refuses – candidates should be able to stand on their own two feet – so we go back to leaving messages, resulting in Garcia asking for an emailed list of questions.
“I just think he’s apprehensive,” says Hennessy in a later phone call. “These new guys get scared of the media and scared of f***ing up. When you’re a candidate for the governing party, you are more risk averse.”
Or the governing party is more risk averse.
Garcia eventually calls, explaining he’s struggling to keep up with the demands of the campaign. “I’m trying to do the best I can.”
I can understand National’s nervousness. Having a candidate who does not believe in recreational fornication is not something that westies would necessarily understand.
But I can’t understand why Garcia and Baala Beeram would be so reluctant to take part in a debate with Carmel Sepuloni and Deborah Russell.
Unless they are afraid of strong wahine …
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