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Hot Topic Scrutiny Week
Hot Topic Scrutiny Week
16 mins to read

NZ POLITICS DAILY: The Joycification of everything


A new term is coined to describe  the management and marketing of the National government.

Bryce Edwards
Thu, 29 Sep 2011

‘Joycification’ is the new term coined by TV3’s political reporter Patrick Gower to describe the management and marketing of the National government. Gower writes about this in the October edition of Metro magazine, which is well worth buying for Gower’s excellent analysis of the ideological nature of the current National Party under John Key and Steven Joyce.

According to Gower, Joycification is the ‘the mechanism by which John Key and National’s “brand” are protected’, and ‘Joycification is driven by a philosophy both men like to call “whatever works”. It seems like another way of saying, “whatever doesn’t dent our popularity”.’ It’s a template within National, it seems, for making incrementalist progress in pursuing rightwing public policy advancement while hardly disturbing the voters: ‘It’s not a “do nothing” Government, as some would have it. The approach is: “If we do something, try and make it as unnoticeable as possible.”  Key fronts the major changes, and Key must be protected. So he will rarely be given something he can’t sell. When they want to make changes to popular programmes they don’t rip the guts out, opting instead for a stealthy surgical approach. The policy may be left standing, with key parts sliced away as unobtrusively as possible’. 

 
Gower’s analysis is both sober and sophisticated. He shows how National has essentially learnt well from the politically successful era of Helen Clark, and Joycification is really just an extension of Labour’s blandness and risk-free calculations – albeit taken to an even higher level of pragmatism. This makes things difficult for Labour, Gower says: ‘The risk-free politicking of Joycification has made life very difficult for Labour, which is increasingly desperate for National to “show its true colours”.’ So what does this mean for the election campaign? Gower says National’s campaign will be about as exciting as the National’s recently unveiled party list and that the upcoming sales jobs will be designed to send us all to sleep. And, that, according to Gower is the secret of John Key’s popularity – Joycification means that the public feels content that Key is ‘taking care of business’, so ‘we can go to the beach. Or the rugby’. 
 
Reflecting this superior political management and marketing, is the poll results published today by Fairfax – see: Danya Levy’s Latest poll a good one for Govt: commentators. The results show that in the two big areas in which National has been most vulnerable lately (the organization of the Rugby World Cup, and the rebuild of Christchurch), they are being perceived as doing a good job. Labour had been competently attempting to focus the public’s mind on National’s alleged incompetence relating to these areas, but unfortunately for Labour, this scrutiny hasn’t resonated with the public. Although, interestingly, the polls does show that nearly half of Canterbury residents disapprove of the Government’s red-zone property purchase offer – which shows a glimmer of hope for Labour.
 
Other important items to read today include: Gordon Campbell’s On the latest SAS death in Afghanistan, Duncan Garner’s SAS mentoring role 'just spin', Vernon Small’s Why John Key might be happy to see ACT die, Rosemary McLeod’s All you need is love, Don, Keith Ng’s Set it on fire, then, Eric Crampton’s NZ Youth - increasingly rational, and Paul Callaghan’s Our strength lies in the weird stuff. In the last item, Callaghan argues that the Green Party’s plan to sell ‘clean, green technology’ to the world is unrealistic and absurd.
 
Bryce Edwards
NZPD Editor (bryce.edwards@otago.ac.nz

Today’s content
 
NZ in Afghanistan
Gordon Campbell (Scoop): On the latest SAS death in Afghanistan
Amelia Romanos (NZH): PM defends Afghan deployment
James Murray and Lloyd Burr (TV3): SAS have 'substantial combat component' in role
Vernon Small and Tracy Watkins (Stuff): Soldier's death devastates family – neighbours
No Right Turn: More blood on their hands
 
Video surveillance legislation
Derek Cheng (NZH): Ex PM: 'Fix it' bill oppressive
John Pagani (Stuff): Why police need that video warrant
Nandor Tanczos (TV3): Urgent law shows Crown too powerful
Gordon Campbell (Wellingtonian): The pitfalls of rushed legislation
 
Act Party
Press Editorial: Not so radical
Southland Times Editorial: Head games
Michael Cummings (Manawatu Standard): Dr Brash morphs into Major Blunder
Rosemary McLeod (Dom Post): All you need is love, Don
 
VSM
Felix Marwick and Juliette Sivertsen (Newstalk ZB): Roy celebrates VSM passing
Michelle Robinson (Auckland Now): Latest student protest a fizzer
Keith Ng (Public address): Set it on fire, then
Rob Carr (Political Dumpground): VSM
David Farrar (Stuff): Students gain choice
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): VSM at last 
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Jones on VSM  
Alexia Russell (Newstalk ZB): VSM Bill not all bad
 
Election
Eric Crampton (Offsetting Behaviour): NZ Youth - increasingly rational
Ian Llewellyn (electionresults): Sykes Wants To Remove 'Traitor' Flavell
 
Valedictory speeches: Keith Locke and Mita Ririnui
Phil Twyford (Red Alert): Thanks Keith
No Right Turn: Thankyou Keith Locke
Robert Winter (Idle Thoughts): Keith Locke
Felix Marwick (Newstalk ZB): Locke, Ririnui farewell Parliament
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Farewell Keith Locke
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Political Report: September 29
 
Opinion polls
John Hartevelt (Stuff): National's cup runneth not over
 
Other
Paul Callaghan (NZH): Our strength lies in the weird stuff
Duncan Garner (TV3): English warns of second recession
Derek Cheng (NZH): The rush to claim credit
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Ririnui on Goff
Rebecca Thomson (The Wellingtonian): Recalling the 1981 Springbok tour
Duncan Garner (TV3): SAS mentoring role 'just spin'
Bryce Edwards
Thu, 29 Sep 2011
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NZ POLITICS DAILY: The Joycification of everything
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