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Labor leader Jacinda Ardern says she remains exactly as progressive as she has ever been as she makes a final pitch to national voters long before Satuday’s election.
In an interview with Stuff Between the events of the last day of the campaign, Ardern said that being in government had not changed any of her political views, but had at times been frustrated by how long her coalition had delayed the change she wanted to make.
Ardern said he had a plan to start immediately if he won the election, which is most likely based on current polls.
The prime minister spoke with Stuff from her campaign van as she drove through West Auckland from a factory to a shopping mall, where fans would harass her as soon as she left.
Ryan Anderson / Stuff
Despite being way ahead, Ardern says he’s campaigning like he’s three points behind.
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The van has seen a lot of use this campaign, bringing Ardern, his cameraman, one or two of his press secretaries, and, on Friday, his partner Clarke Gayford.
It’s not quite as smooth a ride as the usual BMW Crown, but it does give Ardern a chance to eat something from a small zip-lock bag full of snacks put together by his chief press secretary, Andrew Campbell. (Campbell jokes that he has “become Gary”, a character on the HBO show Veep who serves as the president’s bodyguard).
His party is currently making a direct pitch to national voters for a long time, saying it can provide the “stability” National can’t, and comparing itself to the National Party led by John Key. He has also ruled out serious changes to the tax system to tax wealth rather than income as long as Ardern is the leader.
Ryan Anderson / Stuff
Ardern says he sees some of his policies as a continuation of those of the Clark administration.
She says this does not mean that she would lead a stasis government.
“I refuse to accept the idea that you cannot be stable and make changes.
“The list of things we manage to do is long. It has laid the foundations for a huge change in the climate, in child poverty ”.
He said being in government hadn’t changed his political views at all.
“All the aspiration I’ve had for what we want to do about climate in child poverty, none of that has changed,” Ardern said.
But when asked about his greatest regret for the mandate, he admitted some frustration with the pace of change, blaming this on “MMP,” a veiled reference to his coalition partner NZ First.
“How could we get to the same place with a little more speed and a little more purpose?”
Ardern reflected on the big changes made by the Helen Clark government, particularly in education and welfare, which were still part of the system now, and said they demonstrate that the smallest changes can become big over time.
“They were criticized for not being bold enough and not being transformative enough, but they are examples of policies that bought into and made part of our system that we have not lost,” says Ardern.
“So I think it probably, in some way, shows that those things that actually make a difference over time.”
She describes its fee waiver policy as a direct continuation of that government’s policy of eliminating interest on student loans, and says it has undoubtedly made a difference in the lives of many people, even if it never extended to students. three years originally planned.
Ryan Anderson / Stuff
Ardern has told voters again: “If you want me to be prime minister, vote for me.”
“Some people would say at each of those stages that that was not enough, that it was never enough. But look over time at the difference it makes. It’s already $ 150 million of money that people are not borrowing. We hear stories all the time of people who decided to enter tertiary education and who would not have done it without it. “
“The idea that you can only make changes with big jarring jolts, that’s the kind of change that is undone.”
To her left, the Green Party has been running a campaign that directly ties in with her popularity, saying voters can support the Green Party so that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has a more left-wing agenda.
She has a message for those who waver between Labor and the Greens: “If you want me to be prime minister, then vote for me.”
Ardern can’t campaign on Saturday, he says Stuff she will enjoy sleeping until 7 am, before going to meet some Labor volunteers.
She still doesn’t take a victory for granted, but says she will be in Wellington on Monday no matter what, with a Labor caucus meeting scheduled for Tuesday. Next weekend I may have a little break.
Despite good polls, Ardern says he has always campaigned “like you’re three points behind.”
“It just means that you always give everything and every hour you have,” Ardern said.
He said that if the Labor Party wins, it wants to move immediately to employment, in particular to a small business extension loan scheme.
“I don’t take anything for granted, but we are ready to go to work.”
