Liam Dann: Christopher Luxon wants to bring NZ’s mojo back - but what is mojo?

National leader Christopher Luxon is likely planning to open New Zealand wider to foreign investment. Photo / Mark Mitchell

OPINION

Christopher Luxon says New Zealand has lost its mojo. He might have a point.

Whichever way you read the statistics, there is a malaise in our economy this year.

But what does mojo mean? Luxon uses the word regularly in his campaign speeches.

I think Kiwis mostly sort of know what mojo means, but not exactly.

We’re a nation of bogans who grew up with the rock music of The Doors and Mr Mojo Risin’ himself - Jim Morrison.

There’s also a popular Wellington coffee brand called Mojo. Wellingtonians might assume Luxon is advocating a more highly caffeinated economy.

How will National get our economic mojo swinging? Cartoon / Rod Emmerson

That’s not it though. The economy doesn’t need more stimulus. It needs deeper magic.

Mojo goes back to traditional West African magic (or hoodoo), often an amulet or charm, designed primarily to imbue the holder with strength, virility and sexual power.

By way of the African American slaves, the term mojo has made its way into popular culture via the music and language of blues musicians.

Blues legend Muddy Waters had a popular song about getting his Mojo Working. It doesn’t really offer much of a blueprint for the New Zealand economy, at least not one I can safely print in the post #metoo environment.

Luxon is using mojo more broadly to refer to confidence and swagger, I think.

But there is no way around the implied sexuality of the word.

I think Luxon is implying that New Zealand has lost its virility. He’s promising to put a bit of lead back in our metaphoric pencil.

That sounds a bit creepy in the context of a political campaign but remember that the word “sexy” also has a broader meaning these days.

We use sexy to describe almost anything exciting and stylish - cars, clothes, food, you name it.

What Luxon seems to have realised - astutely in my view - is that getting into the weeds with statistics only takes you so far in a political debate.

The average person finds the endless flow of numbers and percentages pretty confusing ... and half of us are below average! (That’s an old statistics joke, for the record).

If have listened to Luxon or Grant Robertson talk about the economy in the past week or so, you’d be forgiven for thinking they are talking about different countries.

Neither of them is shy of reeling off a list of stats that paint the picture that suits their narrative.

Take wage growth, for example. Last week Robertson highlighted Stats NZ figures showing median weekly and hourly pay increased by 7.1 and 6.6 per cent respectively in the year to the June 2023 quarter.

Across the same period, Consumer Price Index inflation was just 6 per cent.

But on Friday, Luxon was very specific in a speech: wage growth has not kept up with inflation.

Neither of them are lying. It just depends on which statistical measure you use for wage growth and what time frame you use.

Luxon has been arguing that New Zealand is currently the only country in the Asia Pacific region in recession.

A pedant might point out we only have data showing we “were” in recession to the end of the March quarter.

The next set of data may well show that we have bounced out - meaning currently we “aren’t” in recession.

If that’s the case, then you can bet Labour will paint that as a win.

We’ll find out on September 21.

But it would be a meaningless win. Most economists (including the Reserve Bank) are picking the country will dip back into recession later in the year.

We’re not going to get any statistical resolution by election day as to whether we’ve escaped the pandemic with a “soft” economic landing.

The next set of inflation data doesn’t even land until Tuesday, October 17, like a welcome gift for whoever takes the economic reins.

There we are back in those statistical weeds again.

Far more impactful to promise you’re going to sprinkle some sexy magic over the economy.

The problematic bit with Luxon’s use of the word mojo, in my view, isn’t the implied sexuality, it’s the question mark over whether Luxon is the man to bring it.

What magic is he planning to sprinkle?

Luxon talks a lot about responsible fiscal management.

But while we call a lot of things sexy these days, I think it’s a stretch to equate mojo with running tighter Crown accounts.

I think the sexy magic ingredient National plans to add to the economic formula is private capital.

I think he wants to bring back a sense of entrepreneurship and risk.

I think he means more foreign investment.

He’s talking about reconnecting New Zealand to the world and selling our brand in a much more commercial way than Jacinda Ardern did.

He has already hinted at being open to Chinese investment. He’s hinted at reopening the property market to foreign investors.

It’s not clear yet how far National policy will go on this stuff - but it is clear which direction it will head.

Luxon talks about Ireland as an example of an economy with mojo - open, inviting and connected to foreign investment.

It’s the kind of mojo John Key wasn’t afraid to deploy with his rock star economy. It’s contentious and could leave many Kiwis feeling like they are missing out.

It won’t sit well with Winston Peters and New Zealand First.

But it can also create momentum in an economy when it might otherwise be stalled - or lacking in mojo.

I think the intent is clear but National is still working through the details and assessing the public appetite.

So for now, mojo is doing a lot of heavy lifting.