A Post A Day

“Losers make promises they often break.
Winners make commitments they always keep.”  
Dennis Waitley, motivational speaker and writer, 1933 –

Go back to March 1 2011.  What was I thinking when I made a commitment to myself to write a blog post each day for a year? That’s 365 posts.  Where did I think I was going to get enough ideas to write every day?

There are days when inspiration or just an idea for a post pops into my head – often when I am in the shower.  But other days…  And today is one of those other days.

via Wikipedia

OK it’s the day after Election Day and the outcome was fairly much as the polls showed.  John Key and the National Party (right) gained 60 seats out of the 120 seats in the House.  This enough seats to govern on its own and with the help of a couple of small parties, to have a clear majority.  However, the pundits were very wrong in some of their other predictions.

Most guessed predicted that NZ First and its founder and mainstay Winston Peters would stay out in the cold where they had languished for the past three years.  But against all the odds, and all the polls, NZ First led by a jubilant Peters has stormed back and will have a say in parliament with 8 or 9 seats depending on the final count.

The Green Party gained 15 seats and will have a strong voice in the next parliament. This is the largest number of votes transcribing into seats they have ever gained.

Labour (the left) gained only 34 seats a sad outcome for this party that under the leadership of Helen Clark held office for three consecutive terms.  The party appears to be in disarray.  It is commonly supposed that the current leader of the party, Phil Goff, will resign following this major defeat. Several names have been  mentioned today as likely candidates for the job but with no obvious choice.

Under MMP (Mixed Member Proportional) we have parties represented with only one or two members in the house.  While this caused consternation and mayhem during the first term of this new (to us) electoral system in 1996, most New Zealanders appear to be happy with this form of electoral voting.

So while John Key and his party received an overwhelming a resounding vote to continue its policy making it must be noted that fewer than 60% of voters actually went to the polls to record their vote.  In Australia it is mandatory to vote but here in New Zealand it is mandatory only to register to vote.

I wonder if the number who voted actually reflects the fact that the pundits all had National way out ahead of Labour in all the opinion polls or are 40% plus, simply apathetic.

Anyway, congratulations to John Key and his team.

Phew!~ Another post on the way to 365.  Number 266 only 99 to go!  Thanks for reading and taking this journey with me.

Related articles

• Key to remain NZ PM, Goff concedes defeat (news.smh.com.au)
• NZ Leader Wins 2nd Term, Pledges Fiscal Discipline – ABC News (abcnews.go.com)
• Key Wins New Zealand Election, Clearing Way for Asset Sales (businessweek.com)
• Election Day (growingyoungereachday.wordpress.com)