Mike's Minute: It's about time - and I'm excited

Am I weird to be excited?

As of this afternoon we will have a Government. Sort of.

We will know the final vote. Yet again, there will be the questions around the timeframe, and how refreshing it was to hear Chris Luxon on the show this week promising to upend how it all works.

In part, that is why I am sort of excited. At last we get to get things underway. The workload to sort this country is gargantuan and three weeks is wasted time.

The first real test will be the formation of the Government.

How long will that take after this afternoon? The clue there is what they have been doing for three weeks, how much progress has been made and how set to go they are.

Presumably there are working scenarios, depending on today's numbers, as to how the final look shakes down. But a good sign would be that the basis of it is already in place.

By the way, Winston Peters will be involved whether he is technically needed or not, and that is no bad thing from a strategic point of view.

The other good indicator we have had this week around us being excited was the business confidence survey. It was a massive lift and for no specific reason other than the election. That is the power of expectation for you.

A lot of this country is placing a lot of faith and hope on a Government that has the "wherewithal" to take the mess they have inherited and do something positive about it.

That, in the end, is the great challenge, isn't it? In a way, it's make or break.

Gone are the days of National and Labour being interchangeable. Labour of 2020-2023 were dangerous ideologues who ran rampant, and the damage is there for all to see.

26% of the vote is their return for the arrogance of it.

The new Government will get a honeymoon. But before they know it we will expect returns and we will expect to see things that were promised. From gangs, to the Maorification obsession, to the big policy stuff like fair pay agreements and 90 day trials.

Then there's the tax cuts, the trimming of waste and the cutting of spending.

The upside of having much to do is you can hoe in. The downside is the risk that it takes too long to materially change and the electorate grows impatient, and that's before you get to the trickiness of having three parties working together in a way that looks cohesive.

MMP ain’t flash at that.

But for now, at last it is on.

New Government, new day.

New hope.

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