Posts by Paul Williams
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
No spring chickens, I'm sure (though is 43 that old?), but there surely has to be a difference between those who first saw Parliamentary action under Bolger (Nick Smith, Tony Ryall), and those who first saw it under Muldoon (Goff).
Graeme, to be honest I think comparing Smith and Ryall with Goff is leading with your chin. Neither Smith nor Ryall have proven records in the Ministry, nor frankly the Opposition. I think both will struggle in their new portfolios; Ryall having made some quite ridiculous promises and set some tricky precedents.
And sorry, Goff was probably as good as it gets in Labour at the moment, but he should expect some reminders of what he did in the Fourth Labour Government, especially during his tenure as Minister of Education.
And although I'm positive the party has moved on, it'll be amusing to both men that Andrew Little will soon be the president.
Incidentally, Goff's interview with Wilson was a very good start.
-
I do think there's something in John Key's comment that the elevation of Goff is hardly a sign of renewal. I also think there's something in the idea that Key really doesn't want to face an Opposition leader as smart and experienced as Goff ...
Goff and King are two of the best and longest serving MPs with such a range of portfolios under their collective belt, they are best placed to ruthlessly scrutinise Key. Key's a noob and has to now deliver on a bloody bold set of goals; frankly if he does it, who'll care about the Labour leadership? A strong Opposition is important in a democracy and there's few to rival Goff.
Key might not be nervous, he should be.
-
Good god, up until Saturday morning we were being told that there was serious economic crisis that necessitated new leadership but watching Campbell Live the new PM's not talking about the reform agenda... we're having family homes movies. This interview's not got a happy ending has it.
-
@Robyn: me too.
I don't begrudge the Nat's their win. I'm thankful for the last nine years (of course I have some worries for the next three years). I'm pleased however, that Labour's renewal is well advanced. 12 new members, some exceptional, will ensure the Opposition is energetic.
-
I didn't support hard labour so I voted "no". Was it that difficult?
=)And yet National's policy might've been written by the same scribes - even including reviving Neeson's three degrees of murder!
-
This assumption that because people are excited that they are also totally unreasonable.
Nicely put. I am still a little frustrated by people who ignore the constraints of politics because they believe in an individual but not since Lange have I been as inspired by a politician as I am by Obama. I don't doubt he's got a lot to learn, which makes Biden such a good choice, but I completely agree; it'll be great to be relieved from the dread Bush provokes.
-
Apologies if this has already been posted, but US celebs are doing funny about voting.
-
Lew, I don't actually know. My reference was based on what Key said in the interview. He even commented that he'd been lunching with the chap who was involved in the scandal - or at least the cleaning-up... obviously the lunch wasn't to celebrate windfall gains from corporate theft... (now I know that's a gratuitous smear but I couldn't resist it...)
-
Too much time insulated from the real world for some of these people, especially those who became activists at university and have been plugged into the machine ever since.
I'll take umbrage when I stop laughing.
-
Having now heard Ryan's interview with Key, I can't quite reconcile a couple of things Key said. On the one hand he claims to be best able to manage the NZ economy, uniquely experienced as a trader. But on the other, he claims he was oblivious to his colleagues dodgy dealings even though Elders was a small firm and they were all mates.
I don't know that Key's dodgy, but he seems pretty consistently (conveniently?) ignorant of the stuff going on around him. So he didn't care about the Tour, he was courting his wife and drinking with his mates. So he didn't do a deal with the Brethren, that was Don. Nor did he mean to break Standing Orders over his rail dealings.
If all those things are true, that's poor form but not a hanging offence. But if all those things are true, he can't also claim to be The One.