"Labour’s fortunes have dramatically reversed in the latest Herald-DigiPoll survey and it now leads National by 6.4 percentage points.

In the same poll last month, Labour trailed National by 3.9 points.

National overtook Labour after the May Budget, but with just over seven weeks to go until the election Labour is back to where it has been for most of the three-year term, in front.

Labour has risen 7.7 points to 43.9 per cent of decided voters and National has fallen 2.6 points to 37.5.

The popularity of Helen Clark as preferred Prime Minister has risen by five points, to 53.8 per cent. National leader Don Brash has also had a rise, by 3.3 points, to 28.3 per cent." — The New Zealand Herald, July 29, 2005.

Crikey, that was a sudden turnabout, wasn’t it. Unfortunately, we all know that things will change again numerous times between now and the morning of the 17th, but all I can say is… Well… I hope the trend is for a centre-left win.

Does anyone really trust any of the right-wing parties? How could you possibly? Don’t you remember the 90s? Ruth Richardson? No? How would you like your mortgage rate to be as high as it was under Rob Muldoon? Remember that guy? He was a right-winger – and a drunk.

The invisible hand of the market will throttle you to death, then neatly slice your kidneys out and sell them to the highest bidder.

Don’t believe the hype when ‘they’ tell you that Labour equates to a soft nanny state, look at the unemployment rate – how is it soft to get people back into work and off the dole? Oh, but it’s so easy on the dole, that’s why it’s so fucking wonderful that National is going to reimplement its already tested – and failed – work for the dole policy, which has been proven to prevent people from being able to get a real damn job. And halts the production of real new jobs. Wonderful, yeah? Awesome? No, wrong headed — and demonstrably so!

Oh yeah, and you know that nuclear free policy that so many of us are so very proud of? Remember "it’ll be gone by lunchtime," .. "Oh, but I don’t remember saying that," perhaps by teatime then, you prick. We can have corned beef and frozen peas, and an American imperialist cock driven up our collective arse.

"The biggest loser in today’s poll is Winston Peters, who has dropped eight points as preferred Prime Minister to 10.3, and his New Zealand First Party, which has fallen 4.7 points to 7.1. " — The New Zealand Herald, July 29, 2005.

Ha ha! They called Winny a big loser!

Now, I must confess to being a bit worried about who Helen will pass the torch to if she manages to drive Labour to another win, it seems unlikely that she’d want to contest a fourth election — again, assuming she wins this one, which is by no means certain — and with the politics game being the way it is, she’d be out of the job in a second if they lose (just like Brash), right?

In other news, today is the last day of the bandwidth month for me, so last night…