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Analysis - What was National thinking? In Caucus this week, Guyon Espiner, Tim Watkin, Julian Wilcox and Lisa Owen look at National’s decision to warn voters of a second election, saying the quiet things out loud and its overall ‘Winston strategy’. Why didn’t they make a call sooner to wall off New Zealand First and what price changing its position so late in the game? Or will the 'quiet Tory' effect take over in the booth?
Which seats are the ones to watch, especially as polls suggest Labour faces a tidal shift from the 2020 ‘red wave’ that have put as many as half their electorate MPs at risk? Which MPs could be saying haere ra? And can the left bloc claw back ground in the final hours?
In this bumper final episode before the election, we also suggest issues that were under-played this campaign or missing altogether. Why weren't we talking about immigration and infrastructure with record net arrivals of 96,000 in the past year? When will New Zealand have a full-on climate election? What about superannuation and how the centre-right parties line up? And where was the grown-up conversation on co-governance and our democracy?
The team looks back over the campaign – the best and worst lines, the stand-out policies and performers and the winners and losers of Election 2023… so far.
