Posts by Tim Ellis
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I'm not a labour voter, but I do get the feeling from a lot of labour voters, anecdotally, that they're pretty unhappy with the whole affair. Labour's behaviour in the privileges committee, their treatment of Owen Glenn, and smearing the SFO just stinks. The PM and Michael Cullen all ran interference, and continue to run interference on this. As interesting as the stories on John Key and the US FTA were, they were dumped by Labour at the precise moment that the Privileges Committee were due to report.
It really does beg the question. <i>WHY?!?</i> What extra value does Winston bring to the table? Are Labour so opposed to having to deal with the greens in the much-vaunted LPG frame, that they're this desperate to have Winston on board to counter the Greens? Does Labour really need the two or three percent he's polling in the polls? Are they really that convinced that his talents as a Minister without portfolio would be wasted if they didn't cut him loose in the next few weeks?
I imagine Labour Party supporters must be screaming in frustration over this. The political fallout will continue as long as Winston is attached to Labour's hip.
Is there any credibility to the theory on right-wing blogs, that Winston must have some dirt on the Labour Party that he will expose if he gets his marching orders? Because right now, that seems to be far more likely than Helen Clark feeling some urgent, overwhelming loyalty to the most illiberal politician New Zealand's ever had. If there's one person in New Zealand politics who truly deserves the labels "cancerous" and "corrosive", this year, Winston Peters has proven yet again it is him.