Analysis: National leader Christopher Luxon is getting some cut through on social media. But it says a lot about this election that short videos on Instagram or TikTok are about the most interesting thing going on, writes 1News political reporter Felix Desmarais.
I never expected to see Christopher Luxon in shorts, but here we are.
It’s Monday, 12 days until election day and the National Party and Luxon release a new social media video, based on the “Get Ready With Me’ (GRWM) trend. It’s where influencers detail their dressing routine, of course edited so clothes magically appear on the body.
Luxon, in a black t-shirt and white board shorts (the trend usually has men shirtless showing off six pack abs, we are mercifully spared this time), tosses up which shirt to wear - white, blue or pink? It seems pink is the slightly “cut loose” choice, and he sure cuts loose that day.
“You know what I like about this pink shirt, in particular? It’s actually got double buttons [at the top], so that actually you don’t turn up with the full Simon Cowell look, which I think is kind of important.”
Choices are limited for a National Party leader when it comes to the suit colour. A blue suit, or a blue suit? He goes with the blue suit.
He proudly points out his New Zealand fern lapel badge, which he says he’s worn since he got back to New Zealand, vaguely begging the question why he wears it here rather than overseas where it would arguably be more of a statement.
Nevertheless, the video is relatable, warm, a little bit dorky and passes the sniff test - it seems it was done in one go, rather than elaborately staged. Notably too, Luxon was wearing that outfit the rest of that day, so it really was his process of deciding his outfit for that day.
Dad humour
In another video Luxon is seen attempting to flip a water bottle so it lands the right way up. It's dad humour, but it's affable.
It’s the Luxon more New Zealanders have seen out on the campaign trail, someone quite at ease with the public and finally starting to answer the question many New Zealanders have had for a long time - exactly who is this guy?
While Vote Compass data released yesterday shows Chris Hipkins is the most likeable party leader in this election field, and Luxon the less likeable out of the two major parties, in this week’s 1News Verian poll, Luxon is leading the preferred prime minister rating for the first time.
Earlier in the year, Luxon argued his flailing in the preferred PM stakes was due to people knowing what he’d done but not who he was. His campaign team - and Luxon himself, in no small part - appear to have worked hard at turning that around. It’s not a resounding victory on that front, but it’s likely to be enough.
But it is telling that things like National and, specifically, Shane Jones' social media content is about the most interesting features of this whole campaign. Most campaigns have at least one clear moment everyone remembers.
Of course they’re subjective, but for example in 2020, it was Judith Collins’ ill-fated jaunt down Ponsonby Rd that encapsulated National’s already fumbling campaign. In 2017 it was scenes of Jacinda Ardern being swamped for selfies in universities and malls. In 2014 you had Pam Corkery, the Internet Mana press secretary, calling journalist Brook Sabin a “puffed up little shit”. In 2011 John Banks and John Key had a very famous, very public cup of tea.
And this year? Some walkabouts, and then the Labour leader got Covid. There were baby goats at some point, and the Greens plodded about gardens in trackpants, while David Seymour soared overhead in a plane named Pinky.
But no big, memorable moment so far.
It’s the White Bread Election where two unremarkable but inoffensive Chrises kind of-sort of duked it out for the premiership. The New Zealand public, pummeled with pandemic and politics for six years, is limping to the polling booth.
Exhaustion and ennui are the adjective zeitgeist.
Never before has there seemed such a case for a four-year term.
“Let’s just get it over with already,” countless people have said to me in the past week.
Indeed.
While the cliche goes that a week is a long time in politics, the latest 1News Verian poll seems to suggest New Zealanders have mostly made up their minds.
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