John MacDonald: Are we nearly as divided as we were in 1981?

Let’s kick-off with a bit of financial advice. If you have shares in a sausage roll factory or an ice cream shop, sell them now.

Because, after today, sales are going to plummet without the politicians screaming around the country filling their gobs and scooping the cold stuff into cones.

Come midnight tonight, we are done for another three years. Although the real action is still to come with voting still happening until 7 o’clock tomorrow night and then the results.

I love election night. But what I think is going to be very different this time around is how people are going to react if the result isn’t what they want.

I’m picking that the mood of this campaign is going to linger.

That’s because I agree with business leader Sir Ian Taylor who is saying today that this has been the worst campaign he’s ever seen because of how divided everyone is. Not just the politicians and the parties, but us voters as well.

I have never known people to be either totally forthright in saying how bad they think the parties, the policies and the individual politicians are; or terrified of getting involved in arguments about politics.

Especially socially. I’ve even heard stories about social occasions being delayed until after the election because people just don’t want to risk getting groups together and it turning into a row about politics.

But that’s not going to end tomorrow night, or whenever we know which parties are going to be in government.

That’s because I reckon that this is the most divided we have been as a country since the 1981 Springbok rugby tour. The division among people then as to whether the tour should’ve been happening or not was probably the most divided we have been as a country.

But the way things have been during this election campaign - and even before that - would have to be a close second to the division during the Springbok Tour, don’t you think?

I’m definitely with Sir Ian Taylor when he says that this has been the worst campaign ever because of the anger and division.

Which is obvious in some of the policies that have been touted by the various parties. Policies designed to try and calm the farm because we’re all so angry.

GST off fruit and veggies. A crazy policy. But, hey, it could mean we’re less angry when we go to the supermarket.

Ending co-governance. Yep, apparently we’ll be less angry if they stop that blimmin’ “iwi takeover”.

Less road cones. Yep - that’ll make us less angry.

And, as Sir Ian is saying today, with all these politicians coming up with ideas that they think will make us less angry - or policies that just put oil on the squeaky wheel - none of the parties have come up with a long-term vision for our country.

The sort of vision you might expect politicians to come-up with. But that isn’t happening, because of the divisiveness and anger.

Which was apparent in last night’s Leaders’ Debate on TVNZ, wasn’t it? Man alive, Chris Hipkins especially was just letting rip. Especially when Christopher Luxon was going-on about Hipkins having no control over his Cabinet, and the Labour leader came back with that line of the night, saying: "None of my MPs beat people up with a bed leg."

Which was a reference, of course, to National MP Sam Uffindell. And depending who you talk to, it was either a very low blow or a brilliant piece of debating.

I think it was both. It definitely made me sit up and pay attention! Put it that way.

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