If we can't win...

Don Brash has written this article in the Herald today where he advocates some changes to our constitutional arrangements. A cynic (like me) might consider that Mr Brash has come to an acceptance that National are not going to win an election anytime soon, and that he hopes to promote conservatism some other way.

Brash considers that MMP's only benefit is "improved ethnic and gender balance" - funny, I thought it was mainly to ensure that the composition of parliament reflected the way people voted. Brash is advocating a referendum on changing from MMP, either back to FPP or to a halfway house called SM (involving less list MPs, I'm not sure if this could be made fully proportional).

Brash also considers that the current government has "no mandate" on social change (like Civil Unions) and that such measures should be subject to referendum. Quite why this doesn't apply to economic measures also escapes me. If the people of NZ, taking everything as a whole, don't like the way they're governed, they can vote that government out. If they (or the talkback callers amongst them) dislike civil unions, but quite approve of employment rights and a decent welfare system, then it's quite reasonable that they end up with a package of all these things.

I hope no-one in Labour thinks they have to meet Brash halfway on this rubbish!