Posts by simon g
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Armstrong has written plenty of similar pieces, and no doubt they are sincere. He does care about this stuff. Trouble is, they're usually followed by a later column extolling Key's political brilliance. The worse the wrongdoing, the more kudos Key gets for surviving it intact. It's twisted logic, but it's commonplace among the commentators.
It's as if they can't help channeling Dick Emery: "Ooh you are awful ... but I like you!"
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Hard News: Incomplete, inaccurate and misleading, in reply to Shaun Lott,
Can someone tell me why this is not our Watergate moment?
Because Nixon was finished off by newspapers, by his own party, by independent prosecutors, by the constitution, the list goes on - the list of things we ain't got.
We don't have Woodward and Bernstein, we have Hosking and Henry.
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“the PM’s pretty much finished”
Attributable to Bernard Levin, I think: in politics, almost means 'not'.
As in - "his position is almost untenable". Meaning, quite tenable, thank you.
I thin it's long past time we got to grips with reality here. This is a unicameral, centralized system. The PM is not going to be grilled by a Grand Jury or a Senate Committee. He's certainly not going to be grilled by the Fourth Estate (he was once, by Guyon Espiner on the radio, and it was so extraordinary that we all swooned).
Finshed? By whom? How?
Of course he won't be, and no amount of wishful thinking makes it so.
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All you need to know about how Key operates:
1) Mr Key said he had received an "unreserved" apology from the SIS for providing misleading information to his office. He said the SIS head's apology to Mr Goff was also appropriate. (Herald)
2) Collins report due out at noon.
So - nothing to see here, I'm just a magnanimous victim, but just in case you don't buy that (i.e. if you have a functioning brain), here's something else to see instead. Pronto.
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PS Herald on Sunday editorial, 3 months ago, describes Hager's Dirty Politics as:
"a book that attempts to smear Key by association with an unsavoury blogger."
Still, it's just fish and chip paper now, who cares that voters once read it?
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It's just further evidence that National/Key fully understand how to play the cynical game - and win. They're very good at it, unfortunately.
Once the election is over, nothing matters. Repeat, with emphasis: it simply doesn't matter any more. Of course it should matter, very much. But now, investigations can reveal, surpluses can disappear, lies can be exposed - with no consequences for those in power. The votes have been cast and counted, and any shouts of "See! We told you" will be overtaken by new events, long before the next time the voters have their say. Heck, it'll probably be forgotten over summer. Or at least, ignored.
The lasting effect is to increase public contempt for their representatives, and further damage the fragile contract between the governed and their governors. Ultimately, to erode our hard-won democracy.
Sadly, National couldn't care less about that.
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the vote should’ve just been made by the caucus.
As doesn't happen in the many European democracies, the UK, the USA, Canada, etc. Only Australia clings to this antiquated idea.
OK, it's a matter of opinion that party members should be less involved in choosing their leaders, but it's matter of fact that this goes against the trend everywhere else in the democratic world (bar the Aussies). And all those other countries seem to pick the same mixture of good, bad and indifferent as we do.
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Hard News: News from home ..., in reply to Matthew Hooton,
No one gave Muldoon or Lange or Bolger or Clark or Key “a chance”.
Key wasn't given a chance, he was given a back rub and smothered in kisses.
Some of us remember 2006-8, even if you choose not to. The most sycophantic coverage of an opposition leader I have seen in 30 years. Exhibit A: NZ Herald. Exhibit B: Paul Henry and TVNZ. Exhibit C: pretty much everyone, actually.
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Hard News: News from home ..., in reply to Grant McDougall,
Wrong. UK Labour does not have a caucus-only vote. Nor do the UK Conservatives, or Liberal Democrats. Nor do most parties in other democracies.
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"i know sumfink you don't ... i'm not telling you wot coz it's a secret but i deffo know it honest i do .... can you keep a secret so can i tee hee ... i don't care anyway see if i care coz i don't ... i said i really don't ... but i do know sumfink you don't and i'm not telling you so there."
A 7 year old, yesterday. Also, a Prime Minister.