Tim Dower: Picking a winner from last night's debate

Trying to pick a winner from a TV debate is a tricky thing to do. 

First thing I have to bear in mind is that I'm not impartial when I look at these things. I've already decided who I want to win, so that's bound to be an influence. 

I started going through it round by round, first one to Luxon, even in the second, Hipkins in round three. 

Four to Luxon, five to Hipkins... overall, I'd have to say Hipkins was the winner on the night. 

Which you might expect, given he's the career politician. 

Did Luxon score at all? Well yes actually, he did okay for a comparative beginner. 

Multi-millionaire he may be, but to my mind Luxon actually came across as the more real of the two. More in touch with what the public is saying and thinking. 

Hipkins, and again my perception is obviously slanted by my political position, Hipkins was aggressive from the get-go and even looked a bit desperate. 

Once he'd hit his straps and got a few zingers in he started to look cocky, arrogant, and a bit sneery. 

His face formed into that 'I know better', pursed-lip, mouth like a cat's bum expression. 

Luxon, and again, this is tainted by my politics, I thought he actually radiated more warmth and humanity. 

The way our politics functions now puts a lot more pressure on the party leaders to have all the answers. We didn't elect Labour last time, or the time before, we elected, well, you know who we elected. 

Point I'm making is that these debates are vote-winning opportunities. 

Hipkins won the debate and he's probably shored up some Labour supporters who might have been wavering. 

But Luxon went that little further. There were moments when he showed he's aspirational for the country, not just himself and the party. 

For the first time since he became leader I felt I could actually see him as Prime Minister. 

And that's something other people have said about meeting Luxon in the flesh; he's serious about the task and he's come a long way. 

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