Ever since the general elections in New Zealand this year, the Labour Party has been mired in a double edged crisis. Leadership contest has been thrown wide whilst the election defeat apparently is like an elephant in the room for the party faithful.

What I can see is a millstone hanging around Labour Party’s neck guaranteeing a defeat every time anytime. This burden has been added by the overzealous policy stance. Before discussing it further, here is an anecdote from my experience.

Six years ago, the Sunday after general election, at a community event I was waiting for my family in the car park. A few kids were also playing in the car parking area. Suddenly one said, “We’ll have to leave New Zealand soon”. I was dumbstruck. During the community event, nothing happened that could have been construed as an adventure call or some call for a defiant action. I asked the kid “why so?”. He said he heard his parents discussing the victory of National Party and its likely implications for the ethnic communities. I told him not to worry as he was a New Zealand citizen and so were his parents and no law of the land could force them to leave New Zealand just like that. The boy nodded his head in agreement but looked nonplussed.

Some time ago, Friday before the elections this year, I bumped into the parents of the boy mentioned above at a social dinner. The couple discussed politics and openly mentioned that they were going to vote National. What a surprise! I threw a few questions at the couple and from their answers I gathered that they were heavily into property investment and were totally against the capital gains tax. Although semi-retired already with a strong portfolio of investment properties, they also wanted their super not be delayed beyond the age of 65.

This couple is a sample valid enough to represent the New Zealand wide mood of the electorate. It is clearly a case of biting more than Labour could chew. These two policies are beyond the realm of a single political party. The issues are serious indeed and definitely need to be pursued further but at a cross-party platform. Labour doesn’t need to be under the moral obligation of carrying this millstone alone. These issues need to be discussed rather at grassroots level supported by quality research looking at the long-term impact on average Kiwis.