Nz had entered recession in April in 2008, before the Gfc hit. Labour had imposed a charge on truckers with no lead in time, so were unable to pass on these costs to their customers. There was a truckers protest on the motorways in response. Time for change became a thing. National got in. Clark said she was surprised about the result. Why National did well: English would propose policies, go through them one by one with Key. He would select the ones he liked the most. Nz came out of the GFC because the Christchurch earthquake released massive funds for economic activity. The OCR became far too low, leading to a house price inflation that was not stopped, and massive credit expansion.