Written By:
Mike Smith - Date published:
3:41 pm, January 21st, 2015 - 7 comments
Categories: International, iraq, john key, national, uk politics, war -
Tags:
I think when justifying sending troops to Iraq the club John Key is really talking about is the group of right-wing political parties known as the International Democratic Union. Today Key is chairing its Executive in Sarajevo, his first meeting as President. He will no doubt have discussed political tactics on the way with the embattled David Cameron, and money and polls with the club’s billionaire Treasurer, Lord Ashcroft. At least Ashcroft won’t have to fly his jet to New Zealand to talk to him.
This move by Key is very interesting. Nobody should be fooled by all the dismissive talk that will undoubtedly emerge when the media catch up with him; as always with Key this move to the IDU is a calculated one. He sees himself and is seen as a leader of the world right-wing club, and this is the first step to his international political career post New Zealand politics.
He aims to become the Tony Blair of the right but without having to limit himself to the pariah states of the Middle East and Central Asia. That ‘s why he can’t stand apart from yet another doomed attempt at intervention, just like Blair.
But I don’t think this means he will not contest the 2017 election in New Zealand; I think he still calculates he will win that too.
So we’d better stop him.
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Why stop him?
The World Right Wing Club is a metaphor for diminishing returns if ever I heard one. Tea Party John.
Mock their fruity little club all you like but after years of deliberate analysis, long term strategy, and carefully crafted marketing, the Crosby/Textor/Ashcroft parties do happen to be in power throughout the anglosphere.
Probably just a coincidence.
If Labour had really wanted to distinguish itself from John Key and this “Club”, it should have voted against the recent anti terrorism and surveillance legislation which most people supposed was aimed against Islamic terrorism.
And now NZ looks like it is going to fight those same extremists in Iraq. The narrative fits together pretty well doesn’t it? What’s the problem here for Labour?
Does anyone else find it bizarre how the right hate unions but then form groups like the international democratic “union” and the tax payers “union”
I think they were poking the borax at us when they chose the title “taxpayers union”.
Yes they were but the borax has back-fired as they aint united or effective at all, like most unions, they are just a bunch of schoolyard dicks whose failure on this front is indicative of the right wing’s lack of understanding of how humans unite and go about things…
… you know, like corporations on the NZX and cooperatives like Fonterra and foodstuffs….
they cant even see the facts on the end of their noses. Such fools, such fools
It’s like the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea. When someone has to spell out their cred that emphatically you know something’s up.
(I’m sure I stole this from an episode of Yes, Prime Minister but buggered if I can think of the exact quote.)