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[Politics] Jacinda Arden







Gwylan

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
31,339
Uffern
That'll help to make the NZ economy competitive post Covid.

That's correct and while the NZ government is thinking ahead, the UK has no plans for improving the post-Covid economy. In fact, it appears to be steaming ahead with a no-deal Brexit knowing it's going to lead to a massive recession in the belief that they can blame it all on Covid.

Most other governments (and NZ is not alone in this) are looking at how to get back into shape after Covid.
 


Is it PotG?

Thrifty non-licker
Feb 20, 2017
23,346
Sussex by the Sea
That's correct and while the NZ government is thinking ahead, the UK has no plans for improving the post-Covid economy. In fact, it appears to be steaming ahead with a no-deal Brexit knowing it's going to lead to a massive recession in the belief that they can blame it all on Covid.

Most other governments (and NZ is not alone in this) are looking at how to get back into shape after Covid.

I think the time to judge will be in 12 months time when hopefully the virus is under control and economies of nations are starting to recover.

I appreciate that World Economics is your field, but time will tell.
 


Uh_huh_him

Well-known member
Sep 28, 2011
10,679
I get your points, but I just can't agree with this Arden love in.

I just can't get away from the issue that it is far, far easier to control a contagious disease in a country like NZ. It is roughly the same size as the UK with a total population half of London's. One third of the population live in one city. That means that the remaining 3 million people are living in a country the same size as England, Scotland and Wales.

In the UK we are trying very hard to stay 2 meters apart from other people. In NZ it is very difficult to get within 2 miles of the next person.

If you are giving Arden credit for the way she has handled Covid 19, perhaps we should all be praising Boris for only 13 Covid deaths in Guernsey and only 24 deaths on the Isle of Man?


Arden is getting praise for the leadership she demonstrated.

No one is refuting that the risk in NZ was massively lower than the UK.
However she got on top of the problem quickly, issued clear instructions and explained why she was doing what she had to.

In short she acted decisively and didn't falter.

These are the skills you expect to see from leaders during a crisis.
This hasn't been the experience from our leadership.
 


DavidinSouthampton

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jan 3, 2012
16,589
I get your points, but I just can't agree with this Arden love in.

I just can't get away from the issue that it is far, far easier to control a contagious disease in a country like NZ. It is roughly the same size as the UK with a total population half of London's. One third of the population live in one city. That means that the remaining 3 million people are living in a country the same size as England, Scotland and Wales.

In the UK we are trying very hard to stay 2 meters apart from other people. In NZ it is very difficult to get within 2 miles of the next person.

If you are giving Arden credit for the way she has handled Covid 19, perhaps we should all be praising Boris for only 13 Covid deaths in Guernsey and only 24 deaths on the Isle of Man?

But it is not just about the comparative difficulties of their situations. Arden has taken her people with her, been empathetic, sympathetic, open, honest, clear - she has been a leader. Her approval ratings are through the roof.

Boris has been the opposite of most if not all those things. He was slow to react at the beginning, has allowed his ministers to "spaff money up the wall" on harebrained ludicrous schemes around track and trace and the like when other existing workable alternatives were clearly available, he gas ked us to some of the worst pandemic ratings in the world, and his popularity ratings are plummeting.

Arden is trusted almost universally. Boris is increasingly not trusted, even by people in his own party and his own parliamentary party.

I rest my case, m'lud.
 




Gwylan

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
31,339
Uffern
I think the time to judge will be in 12 months time when hopefully the virus is under control and economies of nations are starting to recover.

I appreciate that World Economics is your field, but time will tell.

I'm not sure why you think world economics is my field - I'm a technology journalist!

Of course, no-one has a crystal ball and can't see what's going to happen but the point is that Ardern (and other world leaders) are looking as to what might happen but the UK is just crashing along. We're six months away from leaving the EU and UK businesses haven't a clue as what the regime on standards, tariffs, quotas etc is going to be. The post-Covid landscape is going to look very different and the UK doesn't seem to have a clear idea of what it wants
 


Is it PotG?

Thrifty non-licker
Feb 20, 2017
23,346
Sussex by the Sea
I'm not sure why you think world economics is my field - I'm a technology journalist!

Of course, no-one has a crystal ball and can't see what's going to happen but the point is that Ardern (and other world leaders) are looking as to what might happen but the UK is just crashing along. We're six months away from leaving the EU and UK businesses haven't a clue as what the regime on standards, tariffs, quotas etc is going to be. The post-Covid landscape is going to look very different and the UK doesn't seem to have a clear idea of what it wants

As I said, let's see where we all are in 12 months time. I will be interested to see if all of these countries with positive and fruitful plans are in the rosy spot they speak of.

The entire world is in for a tough time financially, talk is cheap but the proof of the pudding etc etc will be the future prosperity.
 


Surf's Up

Well-known member
Jul 17, 2011
10,169
Here
Our problem is very simple. Boris is a lazy, ego-driven, populistic, untruthful, simplistic, rather unpleasant upper class buffoon. He prefers to be shagging rather than working and to cement his power he has appointed a cabinet of untalented sycophants who worship him rather than challenge him. He is also who unduly influenced by one man who has f**ked up big time but seems to have got away with it for the time being. To consolidate this incredibly fragile foundation the electorate, in their wisdom, granted the Tories a massive parliamentary majority, a success they achieved partly because of the absence of any coherent opposition. All at a time when , looking forward, the country now faces the biggest leadership challenges since the second world war (e.g. Brexit, Covid 19, massive worldwide recession) which require strong, intelligent and bold leadership. Jacinda Ardern is the polar opposite to BJ and is precisely the kind of leader required for these times.
 




Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's Tackle
NSC Patron
Oct 8, 2003
50,097
Faversham
Interesting thread. I want to deconflate two issues.

First, Arden as a PM. Seems great. Ticks her boxes, the equivalent of which Boris has shat in.

Second, why is NZ covid free? Well the answer is obvious! We don't know, hence all the guessing, referal to time of lockdown, number of cases etc.

OK, here is my current hypothesis. First the background:

Apparently there are hundreds of strains of Covid-19 currently in circulation (fact, reported 2 days ago by a UK virologist). The virus mutates and strains persist or die out according to standard rules (infectiousness, robustness in the environment, lethality). Our virologist does not know whether the strains differ in virulence, lethality etc because we have not studied this yet.

We don't know if covid has a seasonal aspect yet, and cannot know for some months as it's entry into humans is bound to be out of synch with it's natural cycle as a human virus (which it has only recently become). The virus will have some sort of annual clock cycle, weak or strong, and we don't yet know when in the year (related to seasons not yer actual months) the annual peak occurs or how high it is compared with the trough.

Nobody accepts the accuracy of cases and deaths reported worldwide. However claims of no cases and no deaths would be hard to sustain if a lie. So I am prepared to accept it as truth in NZ.

Looking at data worldwide, there is no simple pattern. The southern hemisphere seems to be less affected than the north with the exception of South America, where it has all gone horrible, albeit later than elsewhere in the world.

The far East, NZ and Australia are least affected.

My hypothesis is that different strains predominate in South America versus the far east and Australia/NZ, and that the virus has a seasonal aspect. It arrived in the Southern hemisphere in the equivalent of our late August/early September, and I am hypothesizing this is not a favourable time for the virus to take off.

No idea if I'm right, but this is as good a guess as 'it's the sheep, ginger hair, early/late lockdown, population density, business and lovliness of the hub airport, amount of kissing per capita, etc.'.
 


Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's Tackle
NSC Patron
Oct 8, 2003
50,097
Faversham
Our problem is very simple. Boris is a lazy, ego-driven, populistic, untruthful, simplistic, rather unpleasant upper class buffoon. He prefers to be shagging rather than working and to cement his power he has appointed a cabinet of untalented sycophants who worship him rather than challenge him. He is also who unduly influenced by one man who has f**ked up big time but seems to have got away with it for the time being. To consolidate this incredibly fragile foundation the electorate, in their wisdom, granted the Tories a massive parliamentary majority, a success they achieved partly because of the absence of any coherent opposition. All at a time when , looking forward, the country now faces the biggest leadership challenges since the second world war (e.g. Brexit, Covid 19, massive worldwide recession) which require strong, intelligent and bold leadership. Jacinda Ardern is the polar opposite to BJ and is precisely the kind of leader required for these times.

Come on, don't beat around the bush; tell us what you really think.

In seriousness, I agree. I would add that having as strategy guru someone who adores disruptive change is the most frightening aspect of out situation. Disruptive change is perfect if you are an entrepreneur and want to get filthy rich. I have spent some time dealing with such a bod over a project of mine. He may make me rich, but he may also make me poor, and he's a charismatic complete and utter nut job. I might put him in chage of investing a small proportion of my savings in a high risk high earn scheme, but I'd not put him in charge of looking after my cat for an hour let alone than the economy. In no time I'd have a nice Davy Crockett hat, though.
 


Audax

Boing boing boing...
Aug 3, 2015
2,937
Uckfield
I also believe that Covid 19 was in the UK long before the government took action. I believe that it was here even before anyone knew that Covid 19 even existed. I have read reports of people arriving from China in November who are convinced they caught whilst in Asia. I really believe that Covid 19 has been in this country since November and this may go some way (not all) to explaining why there has been so many deaths.

I've seen similar reports. The version of it I saw went into a lot of detail about why the exponential growth didn't start until late Feb / early March. The conclusion being that the earlier cases didn't create a large enough base of infection. Conversely, when a large number of people a) came home from Italy / Spain holidays, b) that Liverpool v Madrid game, c) a number of mass gatherings that were attended by larger numbers of infected people around the same time, that caused the explosion in cases. But it took the government too long to pick up on how bad it would get and how quickly, despite there being plenty of evidence from the experiences of Italy and Spain.
 




Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
73,715
West west west Sussex
She's now just trolling

[tweet]1272977834613628934[/tweet]
 


Poojah

Well-known member
Nov 19, 2010
1,881
Leeds
She's now just trolling

[tweet]1272977834613628934[/tweet]

She's alright, but not a patch on the leadership in our country. For decades, the bane of this great nation has been its benefits culture - the dregs of society dining out on the hard work of others with no intention of ever going out and earning a living themselves.

Well, even I didn't think Boris could fix the problem this quickly, but apparently he has. By the end of this year, there will be quite literally MILLIONS of people looking for work.

The man needs a statue; I understand there are a few spare plinths kicking around at the moment.
 


A1X

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Sep 1, 2017
17,802
Deepest, darkest Sussex
The man needs a statue; I understand there are a few spare plinths kicking around at the moment.

Perhaps stick it close to the Thames? Dunno, just feels like a long-term efficiency saving.
 






Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's Tackle
NSC Patron
Oct 8, 2003
50,097
Faversham
I feel even Sami Hyypiä could have managed the NZ scenario.

Great quip, but it did take more than doing nothing.

Likewise the mess we have been in is the consequence of choices made - by the leadershit.
 




sydney

tinky ****in winky
Jul 11, 2003
17,752
town full of eejits
She has a 30 point lead because she displays clear and genuine empathy with her citizens.

More importantly, she has got the big calls right. That surely the first thing you expect from your leaders. That they are intelligent and get the best people around them. This enables you to get those decisions right. (I kind of look at Arden as kind of a Paul Barber figure, but with added humanity).

Contrast this with the complete shower of p*** we've got over here. Dogmatic, deceitful, career driven, opportunistic. We have a leadership selected not because of any ability or compassion, (the half decent ones were kicked out), the leader and cabinet we have were selected solely due to ideological fervour.

nepotism , backscratchery, pigtwizzling.
 




stewart12

Well-known member
Jan 16, 2019
1,600
She's now just trolling

[tweet]1272977834613628934[/tweet]

they've achieved more good in two years than our shower of shit government have in 10
 


Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
73,715
West west west Sussex
they've achieved more good in two years than our shower of shit government have in 10

Am I the only poster imagining the 2 minutes from here or across the pond:-

Fwwor, huff, blahh, hmmm, fahhh.

&

Tremendous, great, super, just the best not nasty, like nasty nasty people.
 


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