National Leader Simon Bridges says the Government's decision to extend the level 4 lockdown will "no doubt see a rise in mental health problems and stress related illnesses".
Opinion by Claire Trevett
Claire Trevett is the New Zealand Herald’s Political Editor, based at Parliament in Wellington.
Comedians and Leaders of the Opposition need a similar toolkit: a sense of timing, and a good crowd.
For both, one of the biggest dreads is following a good act.
And for National Party leader Simon Bridges this week, all three were out of whack.
Bridges has been hammered onhis Facebook post for his response to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's announcement that the level 4 lockdown would be extended by five days until next Monday night.
More than 24,000 commenters have piled into him, many claiming to be National supporters disgusted with him.
Bridges had hit the "send" button on the press release before Ardern even stopped talking – a release lambasting the extension and saying it was all the Government's fault because it had not got on top of contact tracing and testing early enough. He went on to say that had imperilled many small businesses.
In short, it was an overreaction to a short extension that many felt was reasonable enough.
It also belied what people could see before them: that New Zealand seemed to have got a grip on the virus, and that the Government measures he was deriding had helped get there.
It was the second time in the Covid-19 saga that Bridges misread the crowd.
The first was in Parliament on the day Ardern had announced the lockdown.
Bridges' strident response was at odds with public sentiment and he suffered as a result.
It is rather surprising he does not seem to have learned his lesson.
In both cases, Bridges raised points that were legitimate. He just raised them at the wrong time, and in the wrong way.
People felt raw and uncertain, and needed reassurance. There was a hyper-sensitivity to anything that looked like political game playing.
His face plants have got far, far more attention than anything he has done right. He has chaired the Epidemic Response Committee ably, but all the public attention has gone to those who were submitting to it rather than Bridges' chairing.
These two things could prove to be defining moments for him – and be difficult to come back from.
Nor does he have long to do so: an election looms, and National MPs will be nervous about what Covid-19 means to their polling.
National has proven remarkably resilient to panic-shopping for new leaders. But the main reason for that is that the party's polling has itself been remarkably resilient. There were lurches over the Jami Lee Ross episode, and the Christchurch mosque attacks but it always bounced back.
Bridges should not be giving his MPs an excuse to blame him rather than Covid-19 if it proves to have finally ended National's dream run in the polls.
The time for Bridges to make his points will come. Seven weeks of a state of lockdown will take its toll.
Speak to almost any MP and they will tell you about a small business owner breaking down in tears in front of them as they tell them they cannot last the distance.
The laundromat in town. The green grocer. People will start to look at what happens next, and that is when National will be well placed to re-enter the debate.
It is not an easy job going up against Ardern, somebody who comes close to being sanctified for their every utterance.
The criticism from Ardern's supporters will not worry Bridges but what should be worrying him is the increasing sentiment against him from National Party supporters.
People have a sense of fairness, and many believe Ardern is doing a pretty good job at a tough time.
There is a feeling that this should be recognised, rather than being lambasted.
Many of them are letting their own MPs know this. Once party members start letting MPs know what they think, those MPs in turn start to get uneasy.
Bridges was left trying to explain himself, insisting the next day that for every detractor online he had people cheering him on for his advocacy.
Alas poor Bridges. Comedians know they are in trouble when they find themselves explaining their punch lines.
