We are starting to see the clash between politics and reality, elections and the economy, ideology and our future.

Even the World Health Organisation seems to realise what our government doesn’t, our border can't stayed closed the way it is forever.

We got praise at the W.H.O for our health efforts, along with places like Rwanda, Vietnam, Thailand, the Pacific Islands, and the Caribbean Islands.

To be fair, they were praising us because we had followed their advice which is hand washing and social distancing, so it behooves them to pump up their own tyres.

But Mike Ryan who is the WHO's Director of Health Emergencies and seemingly much more amenable and likeable than Dr Tedros who comes with, as far as I can work out some interesting baggage with his perceived links to China.

Anyway Ryan says the borders simply can't stay shut. This appears to be where we are stuck at.

We've locked ourselves up, which isn't hard, given all the water around us. And we seem content to stay locked despite the growing frustration around the simple, cold, stark truth that we can't afford to be and even the W.H.O sees it.

The universities are furious at the lack of access to students, the lack of government desire to get students back ,the inability for business to do business, and the seeming refusal of the government to do anything other than pretend we still have a pandemic and hand out money in welfare form from a revenue stream long ago exhausted.

No one pretends this isn't hard work and answers aren't tricky, but they do claim to have answers, plans, and ideas. But the government doesn’t seem remotely interested.

The bet, and this is where the election comes in, is they’ve got enough people with Stockholm Syndrome who think that doing nothing, going no where, and paying for it with a big printer is just fine and they'll give you three more years for a job well done.

They're stalling. They seem to think a good health outcome is the whole story, the only story, and the economic carnage can't be helped. They'll claim everyone's in trouble, so we will be in trouble but with low health numbers, so therefore we look good compared to others. It's a ploy, it's subterfuge, and the polls would seem to suggest enough are falling for it.

How long have they talked about a Cook Island's bubble? What about Taiwan? What about Vietnam? What's the excuse when there is minimal risk? When the universities have an answer and want to own the problem, why the reluctance? Because it suits them politically.

There is a massive window for National here. This isn't the only way, we are not all captives, and the health obsession and emergency is over.  The W.H.O see it, and they're not even paying the price.