After the carnage of the election the party has been gutted. It'll be interesting to see what changes they make. Hooton, who I find both interesting and toxic, wrote a good (paywalled) piece in the Herald on Saturday. His theme was that National has done nothing to adapt after failing to form a government in 2017. 

 

But, already, National MPs are telling themselves they have been cheated again. Had Bridges not been rolled, the May polls and approval ratings would have been mere aberrations. The public would have seen through Ardern by now, voted reluctantly for Bridges and the Key-English era would be restored. Looking ahead, they say, if the party just returns to the status quo ante, National already has 2023 in the bag.

 

This view will likely be the majority view of National MPs elected tomorrow. Among them is a growing faction of evangelical Christians, who are motivated less by economic policy than the American culture wars, and who have been dubbed the Taliban by more mainstream party members.

 

If so, history will repeat itself over the next three years. National MPs will refuse to accept the public's verdict, and decline to engage with new ideas or even contemporary New Zealand attitudes. They will resolve again to sit back smugly and wait for Ardern to fail, this time by her suddenly charting an unpopular far-left course.

 

I think it's likely to be fairly unpleasant for the next little while with infighting, leaks  and lots of general nastiness. I guess there will be an attempt to roll Collins, who I don't think will go quietly. It's fairly likely to be a pretty difficult time for National as they go through the necessary reinvention. 

The likes of Collins, Smith and Brownlee need to move on and make way for a new generation. In 2023 it'll be 7 years since Key went, they can't keep rolling out the same old faces.