Wanted: party leader, no prior experience essential
The Opportunities Party is the Aaron Burr of New Zealand politics - as Lin-Manuel Miranda’s version of Alexander Hamilton put it so eloquently, “Jefferson has beliefs - Burr has none.”
TOP purports to stand for evidence-based decision making over politics, rational analysis over ideology, cold facts over emotion. As TOP’s own website asks prospective supporters bluntly:
“TIRED OF POLITICS AS USUAL? US TOO.”
But facts and analysis and evidence don’t drive political decisions, and they never have.
Nothing encapsulates this anti-charismatic approach so well as TOP posting a job ad to find a new party leader. The approach is novel, and as a marketing tool might even work to increase awareness and brand recognition. But the idea that the selection of political leaders could be reduced to a mechanical or technocratic choice based on the relative merit of different candidates is anathema to how politics actually works.
What next? Should TOP write a job description for list candidates? John Locke would be spinning in his grave so fast we could retire our remaining coal power stations.
Political decision making, at its core, is about beliefs and values. You can’t reduce values to a formula, and you can’t make an evidence-based decision about what values are right or wrong. In Westminster systems like ours, the public service at its best will tell Ministers when their policies won’t achieve the outcomes they say they want or will have an effect inconsistent with their stated values. But they shouldn’t tell Ministers that their values, beliefs or ideology are wrong. That’s an inherently political choice to make.
Like a rudderless ship, TOP’s policy platform is all movement with no direction. There are lots of ideas that could work - a universal basic income, tax reform or long term funding of social housing construction - but no consistent narrative or government set of values to tie them together.
Are TOP liberals, as suggested by their policies that promote market-based solutions around childcare affordability or emissions? Are they socialists, as suggested by policies to expand the range of medical and dental services available on a universal basis? Are they environmentalists, based on their policies that would limit the exploitation of natural resources?
Who knows? I sure don’t, and it frankly doesn’t matter. Because TOP have chosen to abdicate the role of politicians in a democracy - to have and espouse values and beliefs in order to win the consent of the governed - they deny themselves the possibility of actually having any real influence.
By rejecting beliefs and values, TOP have created a policy platform that has something for everyone to hate but no emotional pull for potential supporters. Those parties that are growing their base and setting the direction of policy like the Greens, Te Pāti Māori or ACT are doing the opposite. They wear their beliefs proudly on their sleeves, and take every opportunity to put their values on show - especially when it causes a ruckus. Even NZ First does this, and I don’t think anyone would accuse them of growing their rather geriatric base.
So while I’m mildly curious to see how advertising a party leader role plays out, we already know what the outcome for TOP will be at the next election.