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A quiet election campaign means upcoming leadership debates are becoming more important than ever, says a veteran political expert.
“I think they are always important, but this time they could be more important,” said pollster and former Labor activist Stephen Mills. Tick. tick, Stuff Election Podcast.
With the response to the pandemic limiting the options of politicians and restricting the size of the crowd, there are fewer opportunities for leaders to create memorable “moments”.
“All of those moments have leaked from the campaign to date.
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“I think Covid has also suppressed political rhetoric a bit, so people are being more careful and educated.”
That puts more pressure on the leadership debates, which begin next week, with the first round hosted by John Campbell on TVNZ on Tuesday, with Labor’s Jacinda Ardern versus National’s Judith Collins. The second round, in three, organized by Patrick Gower, is on September 30, followed by Press material debate hosted by Luke Malpass and Kamala Hayman on October 6.
The final showdown is back on TVNZ on October 15, hosted by Jessica Mutch McKay.
Behind the polls, National will look to leverage the debates to build momentum, says Mills, CEO of UMR Research.
“They almost need a king’s coup, which is really difficult, but they certainly need a victory much more than Labor. That means they are likely to take more risks than normal, they will try to get close to Jacinda Ardern to hit her with a zinger and make something go viral afterwards. So I think that also adds a bit of weight to the importance of this first debate. “
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Judith Collins, left, and Jacinda Ardern will meet in the first televised debate of the election campaign next week.
With the pressure on the leaders, also comes the pressure on the moderators of the debates.
Mihingarangi Forbes, Newshub anchor Election 2020 Maori Electorate Debates, he says it is not so much his decades of experience as a journalist that comes to the fore when he leads debates.
“It’s more of a kind of juggling in the air, and the closest experience I can think of is just managing houses and kids – fights, fights,” Forbes said. Tick. tick.
“There is also justice, and that is exactly the same with the children in your house. I have four of them and if you treated one differently than the next they will tell you. So it’s really important in a debate if you’re challenging people, have to challenge the next person, or throw a bone at people every now and then. “
As audience members, knowing what to look for in discussions can be difficult. The president of the Victoria University Debating Society, Brooke Kinajil-Moran, says that voters should look not only at how well leaders know their own politics, but how well they can convince people that their politics is the best.
“One thing politicians in particular are really bad at is being able to go off script and tell their opponents in a debate: ‘Actually, our policy is not only really good, but relative to yours it is better for these reasons. ‘.
“That helps you not only as a judge to evaluate and compare them with each other, but as a voter that is what you are also doing: you are asking politicians to help you … to make that decision between different policies or different policies. approaches or agendas of each party “.
Tick. Tick: Stuff’s 2020 Election podcast is hosted by Stuff journalists Adam Dudding and Eugene Bingham.
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