The other side to change

There is little doubt; it has been a momentous week in the political world. The election of Mr. Obama in the United States has been a huge shift to the ideological left. One could argue that this was a conscious decision, to move away from the much maligned Bush doctrine. You could also say that the nation was yearning for a change and a fresh face, that didn’t fit the Bush mold would have won with nearly any policy promises. I believe that it is an admirable combination of both of these two factors that decided the course of the election. While there was a strong desire to vote for anything not Bush, the underlying desire to move the political landscape leftward prevailed.

Now what I want to talk about is the other side of change – in New Zealand we just had our federal election, only a couple days after the US version. Our Prime Minister, Helen Clark has been the PM for 9 years. She’s done a good job for the most part. She’s a left of center Labor Party leader who’s struck a balance between social needs and financial gains. But for the last few years the writing has been on the wall – NZ was looking for a fresh face. It was the current financial meltdown that sealed her fate.

As election day drew closer the leader of the National Party, John Key took the lead and never looked back. He campaigned on the same platform as Obama – the desire for change. But here is where things are a bit different. Obama was talking about a change to the left, Key a change to the right. Key cashed in on the groundswell of support that Obama had generated and convinced the New Zealand public that it was the exact same situation as in America and a vote for him was a vote in the right direction – no pun intended.

Obama was the antidote to the mess that Bush created. Helen Clark was not George W. Bush. But this desire for a fresh face has netted a result that is very different to that of the states. The change that will occur here will be fewer taxes for the rich, reduced social programs and funding for the arts. Tighter reins on immigration and a more aggressive foreign policy (Key supported sending troops to Iraq).

Don’t fear change – but change for the sake of it is just as dangerous is being perpetually content with the status quo.

sk