Re-establishing trust essential

Clive Bibby

Opinion

Immediately following the end of World War 2, British voters made a huge call about the future direction of their country.

On the one hand they had the option of returning the Conservative PM Winston Churchill — arguably the most popular British leader of the century — who had, more than any other, led his country to an improbable victory by offering them nothing more than “blood, tears, toil and sweat”.

He had undoubtedly been a leader for the times but sadly for Churchill, those times ended with VE Day and after the celebrations, the public mood changed towards a future that would enable opportunities that had been low on the priority list when everything was rightly focused on not being overrun and enslaved.

Unfortunately, Churchill (great wartime leader he undoubtedly was) couldn’t accept that the British public — tired of restrictions — wanted change and the package Labour Leader Attlee was offering in the way of improved social services had more appeal than what looked like more of the same from the Conservatives.

The rest, as they say, is History.

Labour won that election and it would be five more years on the Opposition benches before Churchill would return as prime minister.

I use this little piece of anecdotal evidence in support of my contention that there are parallels to be drawn in the lead up to this country’s general election in a few weeks time.

My assessment of the current mood is that most people want a change of government and are hoping that a new administration will introduce an environment where individuals can prosper if they are prepared to take the risks associated with seizing the opportunity.

Basically, we just want the government to get out of the way and let us get on with it.

We’re exhausted from being regulated to the point where individualism is regarded as a character flaw.

We want out of this straight jacket that has limited our freedoms for too long.

But, that is where the parallels with the two elections (almost eighty years apart) end.

Here in New Zealand, voters are about to turn on a government that has betrayed the trust of its people.

We have been lied to and coerced into accepting restrictions to our lives that have been proven to be largely unnecessary in hindsight.

The un-mandated lockdowns turned this country into a siege economy, which resulted in the destruction of some important cornerstone industries that are only now showing signs of rebirth.

The suffering and carnage was in many cases avoidable and we are beginning to realise the damage those precipitate, idealogically driven decisions have had on our ability to recover.

It is hoped that the incoming government will be able to re-establish the trust that is essential for future prosperity. However, only time will tell whether they are able to deliver a place fit for the unheralded heroes who continued to man the pumps during the recent dark times.

We are all indebted to those common folk who stage-managed our survival in spite of the roadblocks they encountered on a daily basis. It is time for recognition.

We owe them that much.