New Zealand elections 2020: National’s Gerry Brownlee admits he made a ‘big mistake’ during the election



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“Then he saw the Prime Minister’s visit to a mask factory … together with Dr. Bloomfield, after 103 days without community broadcast, testing himself, all very interesting things happened in a matter of hours before there was a notice from the largest part of New Zealand residency will enter a level 3 lockdown. “

Questioned by reporters, Brownlee said he was “just describing facts … it’s an interesting series of facts.”

Today, he said: “I made a big mistake. I made a flippant comment that was then reasonably interpreted as a suggestion of something that I did not intend to convey.

“I don’t think something like COVID-19 should be treated any other way than extremely serious.”

He said that sometimes when a journalist asked him a question during the campaign, the answer “was in the wrong spaces.”

“There is no question that this is what happened a couple of times during the campaign.”

He says that, as campaign chairman, his responsibility for the outcome was an issue the party would have to discuss.

“As the campaign chair, I’m there to make sure we have a structure that works for us. I think Judith campaigned incredibly well, we had good field campaigns in the electorates. In the end, I think there was a real tide for him. Government led by Jacinda Ardern and you can see that this is the result. “

National had a “one-year surprise,” Brownlee said.

“When you look a little messy like that, you can’t expect voters to say, ‘We’d like to have that group of people in government,’ it’s that simple.

“I think Judith inherited a difficult situation and took advantage of it.”

He said the party had a clear daily strategy, even though he had heard someone say no.

“We had a morning phone call with all the candidates. We had a summary that came out every day with key messages. That was generally shortly after 8 am each morning. There was a clear strategy, no question.

“Now, you can have a strategy, but if the people you are trying to attract to vote don’t choose it, it is a different matter.”

He said Collins should remain the leader, but said it was up to the caucus.

As for him, if he stayed in Parliament after losing Ilam it was something that “would have to be discussed in the next few days … It is not a closer deal than the fact that the Greens are part of the current government. Just You need time after this type of event to analyze everything that is in front of you and find out what is best for the National Party.

“It is not a question I can answer today.”

RNZ

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