GV27:

 

100%. It's quite weird to see other countries where they demonise 'swing voters', like the people making a decision based on the information available at the time are the problem.

 

I could not imagine voting for the same party every single time just because, without giving any thought to actual performance or policy merits.

 

Unfortunately I think we're now at the point where people can live in self-reinforcing bubbles and a huge chunk of their personal identity comes from their political leanings and having people agree with them. "No one I know voted for X" is no longer that far away from  "The election was stolen by Y".

 

Thankfully our options in NZ come from a pretty narrow political spectrum (Bill English was famously more left wing than Bernie Sanders) but if we're not careful, that won't always be the case. 

 

I look at the posts I get in my feeds on facebook, some from Labour, some from National. All are essentially negative campaigns against each other and the comments range from fanboy to vile, on both sides of the corridor. Its very easy to see how social media is fanning the flames of discontent and push whatever agenda your profile and/or past media consumption indicate who you support.