MsPerky

So it appears you are 16 hours ahead of us here on the East Coast of the US. Happy Mon!

zeroptzero

I seen your Prime Minister doing a report while the quake hit, seemed like a small one. I find your PM to be very attractive.

tof

On I podcast I listened to today ("Stuff You Should Know") they were talking about herd immunity and the policies various countries are enacting in response to the pandemic. They noted New Zealand's success so far and how intelligent and competent they thought the PM there is.
Must be nice.

robb

Smart and attractive, nice.

Hertz Donut

Not wanting to risk dragging this into politics but since this is in an unimportant country maybe it's ok, I guess Mods can delete if not. Think of this more as informational/historical, I've tried not to express any actual political opinions.

Labour (current government) were baldy behind in the run-up to elections in 2017, often polling in the mid-20% range. The then-government (National party) were well in the lead with a strong track record of leading a solid economic recovery from the GFC and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, and looking to govern alone with over 50% support in some polls. Andrew Little (middle-aged white male) was Labour's leader and not particularly well-liked by the media and general public. Labour pushed him out and put Jacinda Ardern in his place a few weeks before the elections but kept the same policies, and the result was a huge rush of support for Labour. Neither Labour nor National could form a coalition, and the tiny NZ First party once again got to play kingmaker. Their leader, Winston Peters, went with Labour after many days of negotiation, and the rest is history. Winston is now our deputy Prime Minister, and largely absent.

Ardern's major quality is her ability to express empathy and to portray an image of leader even though many know the big decisions are made by experts in the necessary fields. She's had three major crises to deal with (2019 Mosque shootings, 2019 Whakaari/White Island eruption and now Covid-19) that have turned her into a media darling and enabled the government to sweep several major failures under the carpet. I don't have any particular problem with her, but I have quite some objection to the incredible leeway she is afforded by NZ media - she can do no wrong in their eyes as she's the epitome of social progression as a young mother with a supportive stay-at-home partner. But as long as she keeps listening to the experts and following their guidance I can put up with the media acting like it's all her idea.

The sum total of Ardern's business experience outside of politics is working behind the counter at a fast food shop. I guess a US parallel would be Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

I expect Labour to win this year's election too, as National have just overthrown their current leader and replaced a middle-aged white male with another middle-aged white male.

TL;DR: Never underestimate the importance of a socially acceptable face.

Um, did anyone see which way the topic went?

MsPerky

I was incorrect about the flags not being placed on the graves at Arlington Cemetery for Memorial Day. They are there. But the public cannot visit, unfortunately. Only family members with a pass and a mask. I will go another day since I am sure there will be a very long line of cars waiting to get in.

tof

To my mind, this is the role of leadership. Disaster often results when leaders ignore their experts and lead from their gut, thinking they know best.. Think Hitler. In addition to being an absolutely horrible person, his style of governance and of managing the military during WWII probably did as much to lose the war as America's bottomless manufacturing capacity did to win it. I will avoid discussing examples closer to home.

As to your government's major failures, every government has some. The only way to avoid failure is to avoid any action at all, a course of (in)action that is possibly the greatest failure a government can produce. In the end no government achieves a perfect track record. Be glad yours seems to perform as well as it does.

After all, you could be Australia.

dlq04

This was the most unusual Memorial Day ever, or should I say Corona Day. We carried our chairs over to a neighbors and sat 6' apart while my 84 year old friend played his Hammered Dulcimer. All total there was just 8 of us. I had seen the instrument in his front room but never heard him play it. Wow, impressive. All the music was in his head and he said he probably knew a thousand songs. One lesson, otherwise self taught. He said the history of it goes back 2,000 years and I think he said his has 52 strings. Here's a sample of what it is.

MsPerky

I love the dulcimer. I bet it was really nice.

dlq04

Would have been even better if he was serving drinks - but thankfully a rum & coke was waiting when we got home. Never heard one before (that I know of). He was really good. Said he played with 305 others who set a world's record and has taught it after he picked it up.