Democratic Detonations.

Winston Peters plans to set off a landslide of disillusioned Labour voters by deploying the explosive force of democratic expectations.

LABOUR NEEDS TO DEFEND ITSELF. Winston Peters has made it very clear that he and his party are coming after Labour’s voters. Peters senses an avalanche of Labour support just waiting for a decent-sized detonator to set it sliding in NZ First’s direction. Labour’s leader, Chris Hipkins, should now brace himself for a series of NZ First political detonations, all of them aimed at triggering the mass defections from left to right that Peters needs to once again hold the post-election balance of power.

At the heart of Hipkins’ problems lies the very high probability that a substantial number of Labour voters – especially its steadily dwindling number of ageing Pakeha male supporters – would feel much more at home at a NZ First party conference than they would among the attendees at an annual conference of the Labour Party.