Posts by Euan Mason
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
Speaker: An Open Letter To David Cunliffe, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
Ian,
Do you imagine that Key has undergone some sort of rebirth towards centrist politics? IMO he's just as neoliberal as he always was, but he recognises that in ACT he would wield no power, while pretending to be centrist in National he can blame entreme stuff, such as privatisation of education, on ACT.
The debate here is not about core Labour values, but about who has the charisma and intelligence to stop Key et al. from stuffing the country. Labour should stop arguing about factions and so called core values and focus on the crisis at hand and the need to find a leader who can recapture the treasury benches.
-
Speaker: An Open Letter To David Cunliffe, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
Labour should take a punt and install her as leader
.. if she wants it. The pressure is not fair if she isn’t ready, for the good of the Party. Think about it.
I agree, but what would give her pause is all the competition from over-ambitious colleagues who delude themselves that they are in a strict pecking order for the PM spot. With loyal support from them she would do well, I think, and that would be good for the party.
-
I am sure David Cunliffe is a nice, smart fellow, but he consistently fails to communicate effectively with voters. He always sounds defensive, he often sends a slightly off message, and he lacks the charisma to front the party and challenge a loved PM like John Key.
A large minority of NZers worships JK, even after all the revelations in Dirty Politics, ministerial resignations, assets sales, unswimmable rivers, punitive policies for beneficiaries, tax cuts for his rich mates, huge deficits, memory “lapses”, expensive and ineffective charter schools, and failed responses to climate change. The man is a master manipulator of the media and a clever dissembler. Labour needs someone who can cut through all that and connect with the public. DC is not that person, and neither is GR. I think Jacinda Ardern shows promise – she’s sharp on message, inoffensive, and likeable in front of a camera. Labour should take a punt and install her as leader with the full support of the party, then sort out how to bring all of National’s failures into focus while offering a positive alternative in partnership with the Greens (who performed far better than Labour with their own natural constituency).
-
OnPoint: Sunlight Resistance, in reply to Steve Barnes,
""And please can people stop saying half of New Zealand voted for National … sigh.""
"Can we say half of them didn’t?
I think, statisticaly, that is more accurate."No it isn't. Roughly a million voted for National and another million didn't vote at all. The remainder voted for someone else.
-
This is a thought provoking post, and a much needed one. New Zealand is approaching the status of a one party state, much as it did after the 2002 election, and the “critic and conscience” role of academics is therefore more important than usual.
I was deeply disturbed when in response to Mike Joy’s clearly articulated and well-supported statements about water quality the Hon. John Key said that he could always provide another academic to give a counterview. The implication is that for John Key, “evidence-based policy” means finding a source of evidence that apparently supports what you have already decided to do.
-
Russell, if you received a Canon Media Award for the best blog would you feel honoured or horrified? :)
-
Hard News: The humanity, in reply to Steve Barnes,
Labour lost, they are not the Government, they have not been accused of corrupt behaviour, there has been no scandal of conflict of interest, there has not been a suggestion of obstruction of justice, there has been no evidence of deliberate destruction of the reputations of public figures, there has been no reports of cash for favours.
Touche, Steve.
-
Hard News: The humanity, in reply to Richard Aston,
Maybe Labour should be deeply reflecting on the party itself not its leadership.
The election was run in a presidential style. Had National lost then people would have said, rightly, that John Key lost the election, because his influence was overwhelming. He set the tone for his ministers and almost all commentary was from him. “At the end of the day” will never, ever have the same resonance for me. He is a master dissembler and media manipulator. David Cunliffe, while apparently a nice, intelligent person, could not compete, and often said things that failed to resonate with voters and could sometimes be used as ammunition by right wing bloggers and their followers. Labour has to solve this problem, and the first step is to find a leader who can connect with voters without leaving openings for right wing propagandists.
-
It's good that you tried to get him convicted, and ghastly that it was so terrible for you. While reading this piece made me angry, it also left me admiring your courage and determined to try to change things if I get the chance.
Thanks for speaking the truth.
-
"Journalists are not, with a few exceptions, biased in a partisan sense."
Two notable exceptions: Mike Hosking & Paul Henry.