KEY POINTS:
So the whole world is swinging to the Left. But we're swinging Right. Right?
Or are we? Even if the final election result mirrors the polls - and National wins the most votes on the day - there is a growing sense that the new right is starting
is starting to look old.
The free-market policies forged by economist Milton Friedman in the 1960s and championed by the likes of Reagan, Thatcher, Douglas and Richardson in the 80s and 90s are under attack.
Who would have believed three years ago that we would ever see a US Republican administration nationalising banks?
Even in National's plan to invest up to 40 per cent of the NZ Super Fund in "New Zealand Inc" we see a nod to the kind of central government co-ordination more common in countries like Singapore.
And that's probably being generous. Some might argue that Ruth Richardson-era Nats would have attacked this policy for being nationalisation by stealth.
Nevertheless, it is not out of line with the kind of economic thinking currently being served up by governments around the world. Big government is suddenly back in fashion.
The events of the past two months have been absolutely mind-blowing. Few in the business world have yet had time to catch their breath and assess the scale of what has happened.
We know the landscape has changed but to what extent will only become apparent in the coming months.
We also know that something must be done to kickstart growth in New Zealand, to increase productivity and move the economy away from the boom and bust of the commodity cycle.
But then we knew that already ... didn't we? The financial crisis doesn't change the goals for this country.
It does, however, hone the need to move towards those goals with more purpose.
The most basic economic rules still stand. You need to create wealth before you can deploy it. That means real wealth - not derivatives dreamed up in the imagination of young turk bankers.
If anything, this should be more apparent after the meltdown on Wall St.
Without a world of easy credit to boost returns, creating wealth will be a harder slog. But it is still about making more from what you have.
We must leverage our technology, infrastructure, land and our raw creativity.
Even big picture concerns like saving the world and heading off global warming - however seriously you take that issue - don't exist in a vacuum.
Wealthier countries are better placed to create a cleaner, greener future than poor countries.
There is no room for panic and it would be a mistake for politicians to try and forge some new ideological framework in the shadow of a crisis. In the short term we need to take clear pragmatic steps. Now, more than ever, business needs to know where it stands with regards to policy.
This probably isn't lost on the leaders of the two major parties. But there are real concerns within business about post-election uncertainty.
Hopefully the most dramatic phase of the crisis in credit markets has passed. But issues like details of the bank deposit guarantee - and the prospect of a wholesale guarantee - highlight the need for petty politics to take a back seat.
In a worst-case scenario there may be no clear government for some weeks after the election. This has happened before thanks to the vagaries of MMP - most memorably in 1996 - although never at a time of serious financial crisis.
But even under First Past the Post, when the handover of power was a formality taking just a few short days, the nation has faced dangerous periods of uncertainty.
In 1984, after David Lange's Labour Party won power, a run on the currency saw the country facing bankruptcy unless the dollar was devalued. Thankfully, calm heads within the National hierarchy convinced outgoing Prime Minister Robert Muldoon to do the right thing and the crisis was averted. But the stakes were high.
In 1990 the newly elected National government was faced with the prospect of the then state-owned BNZ going bankrupt and had to rustle up a $600 million rescue package in quick time.
Given what the world is facing this year, developments on this scale are not implausible. Our political leaders need to stand up and ensure that interests of the nation as a whole are put before party interests as they enter into the inevitable post-election scramble.
There will be little tolerance for power plays and grandstanding by minor parties.
This election has much in common with 1984 and 1990. It comes at a time when the fair economic winds have left us.
The nation must chart its course through a treacherous year in 2009 and it must do so largely under its own steam. But given a solid platform and sound economic policies, New Zealand business has the resilience, determination and creativity to do just that.
* Liam Dann is business editor of the New Zealand Herald
