One of the hallmarks of a leader is to provide moral clarity in the time of crisis - what are the right and the wrong things to be doing. Spain's PM, Pedro Sánchez, has clearly demonstrated that in his response to the US and Israel war on Iran. I liked that he said, paraphrasing, "It is the function of a government to protect and to improve the lives of its citizens." and that should be the test of any government's response, especially, but not only, in a time of crisis. That's it, political leadership in a nutshell. Anything a government does, any piece of legislation it passes, any regulations it promulgates - that's the test. Does it improve the lives of its citizens? And that does not always mean "economic growth". Our lives have far deeper and richer dimensions than just economic wealth - although clearly that is very important.
By this measure, our government is a failure. You can apply Sánchez’s test to so many of this government’s policies and you will struggle to see how they improve the lives of us as citizens. Deep sea mining? Codifying English as an official language? Debasing Te Tiriti? Restricting voting enrolments? Building mega roads? The list is endless.
Arggghhh!
#NZPol
