Abstract
This article focuses on the social, economic, and political conditions that contributed to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It identifies the key developments in the global political economy that facilitated the rapid global spread of the virus before considering the economic impact of the pandemic and the widely varying policy responses of governments (with a particular focus on China, UK, the US, and New Zealand). The article then focuses on the impact of the pandemic on New Zealand politics, particularly in light of the 2020 and 2023 elections, the rise of the far right, and the prospects for a National-led government being re-elected in 2026. Centrally, the article highlights the vital importance of staunchly defending elimination strategies, including the Sixth Labour Government’s elimination strategy, against right-wing detractors. It argues that the most effective way to oppose far right ideas, policies, and protests, many of which are profoundly racist, sexist, and transphobic, centrally involves organising mass militant counter-protests.