Today it's being reported that 'Almost half of New Zealand voters believe no political party truly represents their views'. What's more, the same survey research shows that 'more than 40 per cent of voters are driven to choose a party because they like the leader' - see: Andrea Vance and Kate Newton's Leader's popularity may sway party choice. Such reports are in line with academic research that shows throughout the western world there is a growing disjunction between the ideology of voters and parties.
So how can voters find a party to vote for? There are a number of very interesting interactive websites which offer information about the political ideologies and policies of the various parties. One of the most impressive is the international Political Compass website, which not only attempts to give a sophisticated multi-dimensional map of where political parties are ideologically, but also allows you to locate yourself on that map. It's not just a traditional left-right economic spectrum - but one that incorporates the libertarian-authoritarian social dimension. You can take the test here and view where New Zealand parties currently sit. A measurement system such as this one will always have some inaccuracies, and I would argue that in this case the National Party is positioned too far to the right and the Greens too far to the left. The Mana Party is also deemed to be surprisingly authoritarian (probably due to a propensity towards banning and regulating activities such as smoking, gambling, and drinking). But overall the Political Compass does a good job of plotting our political landscape and providing a useful analytical device for understanding the nature of the various parties.
Other 'guides to voting' have been launched recently - check out the On the Fence website - which is also reported on here and Vote Note. An environmental-based site, Elect Who? is apparently 'your guide to voting for a zero carbon future'. For other media items that seek to help voters navigate all of the policy options - see, Ally Mullord's Undecided and confused? Election policies explained and the policy summaries on most major news websites - such as this one: Election policies: How the parties stack up. And for the electoral system referendum, there is a very useful interactive online tool here.
Also in terms of the referendum, yesterday the Dominion Post came out in support of MMP (Fine-tuning MMP a voting solution) and today it's the Herald's turn - see: Flawed, but MMP is pick of the bunch.
With election day drawing closer, and the campaign nearly over, some focus is turning to the role that the mainstream media and new social media are playing. Some useful research and opinion can be found in these items: Media coverage of party policy sidelined by tea tape - study, Chris Philpott's A quick review of election coverage, and Chris Whitworth's From smiling to silent assassin: National's media stonewall. But it's the interplay between politics, media and the state that is particularly interesting, and the following items discuss the contentious regulation of these activities: John Drinnan's Policing election day media ban 'farcical', the Southland Times' editorial, Hush as we go to vote, Eric Crampton's Election gag and Stuff's Weather off the radar on Saturday.
