Labour and National different cheeks of the same arse, argues Chris Trotter

Summarised by Centrist

Political commentator Chris Trotter argues that Labour and National have become so similar in their economic and cultural outlooks that voters are struggling to distinguish between them.

Both parties, he says, continue to present themselves as traditional representatives of the left and right, despite having largely abandoned the political traditions on which they were founded.

Writing for interest.co.nz, Trotter traces the shift to the economic reforms of the 1980s and 1990s, when free-market liberalism replaced the social-democratic consensus that had shaped New Zealand politics for decades.

Labour, once rooted in working-class communities and trade unions, embraced market reforms under Roger Douglas while increasingly adopting the socially progressive values of university-educated professionals.

Trotter argues this combination alienated traditional Labour supporters, whose economic interests and socially conservative values were no longer reflected in the party's direction.

National underwent a similar transformation, he says, embracing economic liberalism while gradually abandoning much of its traditional cultural conservatism.

Trotter offers a particularly colourful description of the resulting political landscape:

"That National and Labour might actually be the right and left cheeks of the same economically- and culturally-liberal arse, is a proposition that cannot, under any circumstances, be put to the voters."

He cites ACT leader David Seymour's description of his political mission as keeping Labour "out of power, and out of the National Party", suggesting National's socially conservative voters have relied on ACT and NZ First to push back against progressive policies.

Trotter draws a particularly striking comparison between NZ First and the Labour Party of former prime minister Norman Kirk.

He argues Winston Peters and Shane Jones are closer to Kirk's economic nationalism and traditional social values than today's Labour leadership, particularly in their opposition to economic globalisation.

For Trotter, the familiar left-right divide obscures a more fundamental political realignment, leaving voters uncertain about which parties represent their values.

Read more at interest.co.nz

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