EDITORIAL
Christmas cheer is here, Parliament has risen for the summer and 'tis the season of goodwill, even in politics. It's a time rival parties and their supporters might be a little more generous about each other around the barbecues, giving praise where it is deserved.
National Party supporters might acknowledge the three parties in the Government are working together better than they expected, certainly better than the chaotic multi-hued crew of the "other boat" depicted in National's election ads.
Labour people might acknowledge that National's support in opinion polls is holding up remarkably well in the circumstances. Normally a new government storms ahead in the polls in its first term because New Zealanders generally like a change every nine years.
Normally the party that has just lost power spends the next few years languishing, struggling for traction in the polls and blamed by the Government for every problem it sees. Labour has certainly done that. "Nine years of neglect" has become its constant refrain.