Today OneNews reports, not as opinion, but as "fact", the following: "Should the final count erode their slim majority, waiting in the wings is Peters' populist NZ First party". A few weeks ago, OneNews' John Campbell stated: "So, the party [ACT] that began life as the pure and profoundly neoliberal offspring of the father of Rogernomics, has become a populist party ..". (Underlining added). And amazingly, someone - probably with Kiwi connections - has included on Wikipedia's list of "populist" leaders this guy:
"Christopher Luxon" Alongside Luxon, the list includes Pauline Hansen in Australia, Fidel Castro in Cuba, Recep Tayyip Erdogen (of Turkey), Hugo Chavez (of Venezuela), Marine Le Pen (in France), Slobodan Milosevic (from Serbia) and Vladimir Putin (of Russia). The word "populist" is often used as a perjorative. Populists are characterized by standing on a political platform that argues the nation has been taken over & subverted by an elite - in history that "elite" has regularly included Jewish and intellectuals. The word is sometimes associated with demagogy "to describe politicians who present overly simplistic answers to complex questions in an emotional manner, or to characterize politicians who seek to please voters without rational consideration as to the best course of action". Labelling ACT, NZ First & National as populist is out of order. Shame on our State-owned broadcaster for presenting to the world a misleading view of Kiwis & the new coalition that diminishes us all & reduces our stature as a nation. Sources: https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/10/30/peters-raises-hopes-for-swift-coalition-talks-after-votes-counted/ https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/10/30/john-campbell-striving-to-comprehend-the-multi-headed-creature-that-is-act/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_populists#Oceania