I have a confession to make. I am a complete and utter politics geek. And with this week being New Zealand's General Election, Saturday night for me is what the Super Bowl is to the average football mad Texan.
I'm that annoying person who has can (and does) happily sleep through the most important sports fixtures, but given half a chance will dissect for hours the 1996 election results, strategic voting, the impact of wasted votes, electoral systems and anything else you care to think of.
I'm that annoying person who has can (and does) happily sleep through the most important sports fixtures, but given half a chance will dissect for hours the 1996 election results, strategic voting, the impact of wasted votes, electoral systems and anything else you care to think of.
New Zealand has an election every three years. Being a small country, we don't have states, so no State legislatures. We don't have a Congress and a Senate, we have a Parliament with no Upper House. No President, and our Prime Minister isn't separately elected, he/she is just the leader of the largest party that forms the Government (which means they can be rolled by their party and we can turn on the news one night and find we have a new one).
Parliament is it. Everything important goes through them. Whoever gets elected on Saturday will decide everything from how much tax I pay, to subsidies (if any) for childcare if I go back to work, to how schools are funded, and what kind of health services are deemed to be a priority.
In this consumer/appearance driven age, there has recently been research done on how politicians' looks influence the way that people vote. So purely out of interest, below are the leaders of our two main political parties, John Key and Phil Goff. Come Sunday one of them will be our next Prime Minister.
Assuming most of you know little, if anything, about New Zealand politics I'd be interested to hear who you would vote if you had to vote purely based on their looks and why :)
Phil Goff
John Key
Hi Kara, I'm another politics junkie. We just had a municipal election in my region and I was out telling everyone who would listen, and some who wouldn't, what the issues were and what the candidates had to say. Interesting that you are taking a sample based on looks alone. I think some of our councillors were elected on name recognition alone.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, from your pics, I'd chose John Key, because his smile appears more open and friendly.
I agree with Alice. It may be the more informal background, but I think it is also the crinkle around the eyes that makes him look more sincere. But then, maybe he is just the more effective con man. I'm afraid I am not a politics junkie. I find the division in the US right now very depressing. Lots of material for prayer.
ReplyDeleteI would vote on John Key. His smile appears to be more natural and his eyes appear kinder. That said I enjoyed your post. Trying to keep up with our politics is a full time and frustrating job only to find out in the end that the man that got voted in lied through his teeth. God bless your election. He is the only one that can see through all the lies.
ReplyDeleteGlenda Parker
http://glendaparkerfictionwriter.blogspot.com