Having seen the release of the 4 officially-sanctioned options for a new national flag recently chosen by a government-appointed committee (heavily criticised for not including a single designer on the team), Kiwis and flag fans alike seem to be deeply underwhelmed. Opinion: “We blew it”
In contrast to the quirky entries mocked by John Oliver, 3 of the final 4 choices are strikingly similar.
Disinterest is so high that flag polls (heh) report that two thirds of the country either just want to keep the current flag, and/or think the whole exercise is a political conspiracy or a waste of time and money.
What is interesting however, is a new “peoples choice” movement that has sprung up in support of one of the snubbed runners-up. The “Red Peak” design is gathering more fans on Facebook, news reports at home and internationally than any one of the official contenders.
A petition to have the Red Peak considered as a nomination from the people for the upcoming referendum is gathering steam, and a Pledgeme campaign to order first editions of the flag reached its funding target within a day.
Public opposition to the entire process is so high that we probably won’t be seeing this (or any other new design) fluttering at the Olympics any time soon, but it would be interesting to see if the people really could vote to choose their own national flag.
… And how many people will end up happy with the result :-}
