It follows two surprising additions to New Zealand First’s candidate list: former Whanganui Mayor, National MP, and broadcaster Michael Laws and former All Blacks captain Taine Randell.
Newstalk ZB political reporter Ethan Griffiths told The Front Page that all bring strong name recognition, making them unusually high-profile for a single election cycle.
“We’ve got two very well-known broadcasters and a former All Black captain. You have to go back a pretty long time, in fact, perhaps never, to see an election where there are three such high-profile candidates in the running.
“The main thing here is the news cycle, right? Parties announce this.
“It gives them a massive amount of coverage for the candidates that are running, as well as for the party’s leader, of course. All of these announcements happened alongside Winston Peters, in New Zealand First’s case, and David Seymour, in Act’s case.
“Kiwis know who these people are. Often with these candidates, if they are in a senior role with the party, they need some degree of introduction. These three do not. You can host a town hall meeting tomorrow and likely pack the room with people who want to hear from these people. They’ve followed them for years.
“They already have their minds made up about them, and perhaps that point is another reason as to why it might be a little bit risky.
“A lot of people already have their minds made up on the likes of Michael Laws and Paul Henry, perhaps less so for Taine Randell, but that could also pose a risk to the party.
“The question is whether these candidates will be a net benefit for them, and as minor parties attracting their own section and degree of voters, you’d have to think it’s a relatively smart strategy,” he said.
US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky outside the West Wing of the White House. Photo / Getty Images
Worldwide celebrities have never shied away from entering politics.
When rapper Kanye West announced his run for US President, academics pondered the dangerous allure of the celebrity politician.
“A mix of charisma, media-savvy, and anti-establishment airs can help them appeal to voters,” University of Essex Professor Natasha Lindstaedt wrote.
“Celebrities are often charismatic and well-versed in engaging with the media. They already have more experience in working on camera and cultivating an image,” she said.
All over the world, celebrities have become involved in politics, with some occupying the highest offices.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a former comedian and TV star who played a fictional president on screen before being elected as the actual President of Ukraine in 2019.
He had capitalised on widespread public distrust in traditional politicians in his TV series about a high school teacher who becomes president after a rant about corruption goes viral.
Former reality TV star Donald Trump won the 2016 US Presidential election after appearing as “one of the people”.
In the 80s, people were becoming increasingly anti-government over the Vietnam War, and that created an opening for a candidate who promised to “get the Government off your back” – a former movie star named Ronald Reagan.
“Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump famously used the term ‘Make America Great Again’. Trump popularised it, but not many people know that, in fact, it was Reagan who had used that line many years earlier,” Griffiths said.
“I think we’re seeing a similar theme across all three of these celebrity candidates here in New Zealand.
“They’re harking back to a happier past. We had Michael Laws talking about the fair New Zealand of old. We’ve had Taine Randell, who was enormously popular as an All Blacks captain in the late ’90s, when it’s probably fair to say the world was a cheaper, happier, and more peaceful place.
“Then Paul Henry at his first press conference alongside David Seymour saying: ‘I want to go back to the New Zealand where all of us in our class wanted to be astronauts’.”
Listen to the full episode to hear more about:
The “celebrity ego” challengeAdjustment to political lifeMixed track recordsAnti-establishment appeal.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5pm. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.