The shift to the left

It's a Len-slide for Brown
AUCKLAND'S FIRST super city election has produced an awkward but workable marriage, with the left-leaning Len Brown and Prime Minister John Key pledging to work together after Brown trumped the government's preferred candidate John Banks by a big margin for the second most important post in the land.

The result, some say, is disastrous for the National government, who were relying on former Auckland City mayor Banks getting his foot in the door of a super city designed by Act leader Rodney Hide. That door was slammed in his face as Brown pulled down 221,000 votes to Banks' 161,000.

There has been a large shift to the left (wouldn't a Green Wellington be amazing), and as Metro Editor Simon Wilson pointed out on The Nation, this shift has occurred under the National news radar. The cheapo brainfart telephone polls predicted Brown and Banks neck and neck, yet it was a landslide, for the Mayors and the council...

Auckland vote a 'disaster for government'
THE NEW super city council will not be stymied by fighting between factions as it is largely left-leaning, political commentator Matt McCarten says.

"Brown will be fine because he has got a majority," he said.

McCarten said the split was 11 left to nine right, officially, but it was more like 12 to eight, and with Brown it was 13 to eight.

"Those who are on the right are pretty harmless. All the left big players are there but the right players are not. So it's going to be seamless."

...the very same cheapo brainfart telephone polls are claiming National have over 50% support. The worst recession in living memory is biting and the consumer driven market research opinion polls are missing those who aren't consuming.

Losing their favourite mouthpiece on TVNZ with Paul Henry's jump before pushed resignation was bad, losing control of all ideological sway over local body councils is unimaginable. After all the work the right went into spiking the Super City by appointing the CCO's minus the consultation promised, to have the brakes applied by the left will have gears grinding in Wellington this week.

Let's not forget, the hard right policies Key has been rollin out this election term are all 'national lite', he promised the hard hard right stuff post 2011 and I think the generosity of 'change' so many NZers gave Key in 2008 only goes so far.