Political analyst Dr Bryce Edwards of the Democracy Project joins Andrew Urquhart to unpack the weekend's National and Labour campaign launches, noting both events felt somewhat staged given campaigning has effectively been underway for months.

Dr Edwards observes a marked shift to negative, personality-driven messaging from both major parties, with Chris Hopkins bringing unexpected aggression and energy to Labour's smaller but packed launch, contrasting with a more subdued National event bolstered by John Key's endorsement. He also examines National's anti-strategic-voting stance, weighing up the "Mowbray overhang" plan that could boost the right's overall seat count but weaken senior National MPs like Nicola Willis and Chris Bishop, and compares Labour's new 10% student loan discount policy against National's competing plan to lower loan repayment rates.

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