Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, September 9th, 2008 - 44 comments
Categories: john key, national -
Tags: infighting, national's secret agenda
This is really getting pretty serious now – a fourth National party policy has been leaked to Labour, who have made it public. In the last week we’ve seen National’s environment, conservation, biofuels, and, now, research, science, and technology policies leaked from within National. This is unprecedented – so many policies being leaked this close to an election with the clear goal of undermining Key’s leadership.
So, who is the leaker? Almost certainly, an it’s an MP and, almost certainly, they are not acting without the knowledge of others in National. A lone wolf who is willing and able to leak so much policy without a direct payoff but is also willing and able to appear within the mainstream of the party in public seems much less likely than the English camp strategically moving to undermine Key so that English can move to roll him quickly after the election, whether they win or not. Remember, these leaks are just one element of the internal discord that has become public – the hollow men leaks, the secret agenda tapings at a National function, the Lord Ashcroft leak, the ‘gaffes’ by Williamson et al, and these policy leaks are all part of the same story. Within National there is a bloc dedicated to undermining Key at any cost, including winning the election.
I see Key is desperately trying to divert attention from this latest leak by holding a press conference to make a redundent and obvious call on the PM to sack Peters if Glenn can prove his story. Of course, that’s nothing new from Key and it’s what the PM would do anyway, if Glenn could prove Peters has been lying to the public. Look for him to come up with more silly accusations of dirty tricks by Labour now that his fantasy story that the papers were accidentally lost by an MP has lost all creditiblity. But what else can he do? He doesn’t have the power within caucus to defeat his opponents and he can’t afford a bloodbath this close to the election. He’ll have to just keep on grinning and praying, even as others sharpen their knives behind his back.
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Scoopit!
Or the Helen Clark excuse: “They’re all honourable men.”
weka,
I wasn’t aware National was actually saying they can’t find the accidental leaker, I thought they had been gently sidestepping. That’s seriously embarrassing; they’re defending themselves by saying that one of their trusted core is not only prone to human mistakes, but also cowardly and dishonest.
I would have thought that if all the leaked policies went to the same caucus meeting and if they genuinely believe it was a lost pile of paper, then they could safely assume that all the policies that went to that caucus meeting are in the wild.
Tim Ellis,
Isn’t it “because they are all honourable men I have to take them at their word that they are honourable men”?
Anita, something I’ve read in the past day or so said that the papers had gone only to the MPs, and that no-one knew which MP had ‘lost’ their papers. Can’t remember where I saw that though, might have been anti-right interpretations.
Nats not saying anything about the leaker…
I notice they’ve stopped talking about the taper too.
Are young Nats hipper than Key thinks?
Are young Nats hipper than Key thinks?
No
That sounds like something Mark Antony would have said, Anita.
oh well – looks like ‘fraser carson’ won’t have any money to work with now that the owen glenn money pit has dried up.
maybe a few fliers will have to suffice.
The less crap with helen’s mugg on it the better
Seems like the ad man has chosen a bizarre key word to use for a political campaign. Trust and politicians don’t go well together in any context let alone the current one. I would have thought such a great ad man could have done a lot better.