Chlöe Swarbrick says National made her the ‘bogeyman’ of the election campaign

Chlöe Swarbrick says she did not expect to become a central target of National’s election messaging — or to find the campaign as unpleasant as she has. With 10 days until polling day, the Green co-leader told The Spinoff that being cast as a political “bogeyman” had been one of the biggest surprises of her first campaign leading the party. In an interview with At Large host Toby Manhire, Swarbrick said senior National figures and the party’s social media team had focused on her after she said she would be keen to serve as finance minister. Labour leader Chris Hipkins has said that role is not on offer. Swarbrick described the experience as “yucky” and “grotty”, adding that she had once imagined politics as a contest of ideas. She also took aim at National campaign chair Simeon Brown’s demand for more certainty about the spending plans of a possible Labour-Green government. Swarbrick said the Greens were campaigning on their own priorities and that the details of any shared programme would have to be worked out at the negotiating table, rather than settled in advance. The co-leader argued that the focus on ruling parties in or out and setting coalition “bottom lines” was harmful to public debate. She said voters should listen to what the Greens actually propose, describing the party’s approach as reasonable and evidence-based. Swarbrick pointed to discussions about public debt, taxation and the funding of healthcare as issues she believes deserve more detailed consideration. Asked whether the Greens could reduce uncertainty by committing to a path back to surplus within five years and agreeing that the largest party in a potential coalition would provide both the prime minister and finance minister, Swarbrick began to respond that such questions were theoretical. The article’s account ends before her answer is complete. Her broader message, however, was clear: she wants the campaign judged on policy, not on the image of her National’s attacks have created.