When the French unilaterally destroyed a Greenpeace vessel in New Zealand, it outraged voters and brought the Socialists to power.
Actually, the "socialists" - the fourth Labour Government were elected to power in 1984 - two years before the French blew up the Greenpeace boat. The so-called socialists actually were neo-liberals who followed Milton Friedman more than they did Karl Marx. Under the "socialists" New Zealand went from having one of the most regulated capitalist economies to one of the least. New Zealand in terms of market protectionism and subsidies to agriculture is one of the most free market economies in the world - much free than the United States, which still has high tariffs and huge subsidies for agricultural producers. Helen Clark's government has not changed this. She is a free-market liberal - she combines conservative economic policy with liberal social policy. New Zealand's economy is the fastest growing in the work and is the darling of monetarist economists.
Helen really needs to shut-up.
,,, just looking at your post [#35]. The 1984 Labour government were predominantly socialists, but the economic policies were hijacked by Roger Douglas and his followers, one of which is ACT's present leader, Richard Prebble. I'm an ACT voter and Party member.
You may like to take a look at where those policies that sent New Zealand on the path of major economic reform back then are held as good as gold now.