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The Conservatives in a shambles

Written By: - Date published: 3:03 pm, September 18th, 2014 - 29 comments

This direct mail has gone out without an authorisation statement to who knows how many kiwi households. Add this on top of losing their press sec today and you have to wonder if the Conservatives are going to make it to election day in one piece. In case you can’t read the text at the […]

Vote Key, get Colin

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, September 18th, 2014 - 97 comments

With the latest poll results it’s basically a coin-toss whether a vote for National gets you Colin Craig and his extremist mates at the Cabinet table.

Blue on the polls

Written By: - Date published: 12:04 pm, September 14th, 2014 - 62 comments

Landline polls are a traditional gripe for lefties. But this election polls look seriously out of whack with reality.  Is National at 55%, 50%, 48% or 46%? But it’s always far too large for a party at National’s current stage in the political cycle. Just unbelievable and highly unlikely.

What kind of government would National lead?

Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, September 8th, 2014 - 112 comments

The choice for NZ voters is becoming clearer in the last days of the 2014 election. The irony is that after John Key’s scaremongering, our options are a three-headed coalition of natural allies versus a five-or-six headed hydra of extremists and sworn enemies.

National’s mating dance with the Conservatives II

Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, September 8th, 2014 - 30 comments

National is now talking up the possibility of a post election accommodation with the Conservative Party.  But the thought of the Conservatives having a significant say in policy formation should make all progressives very afraid.

Tories! Scared of Internet/Mana? I have the solution …

Written By: - Date published: 7:19 am, September 5th, 2014 - 64 comments

Labour are going to lead the next Government. So what’s a Tory voter to do to keep the damge to a minimum? If the possibility of Hone Harawira and Laila Harre being Ministers in the Cunliffe administration is keeping you up at night, then Te Reo Putake has the answer.

The opening addresses of Election 2014

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, August 24th, 2014 - 32 comments

Last night the opening party political addresses were broadcast on TV One, simultaneous with an All Blacks match and a live-tweeted crowd viewing of Labyrinth. So if you missed out (and don’t follow my every thought on Twitter), here’s my reaction! [Update: more links to videos!]

Local Bodies: Greens Riding Above Stormy Seas

Written By: - Date published: 9:41 am, August 13th, 2014 - 10 comments

Dave Kennedy (bsprout) looks at the increasingly parlous current state of the smaller parties. He is also looking forward to the Green party campaign launch this weekend in Auckland. Updated with Green campaign launch details.

The right’s lack of diversity

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, August 12th, 2014 - 46 comments

On the right there’s one big party who have the lion’s share of the vote, and a smattering of odd little parties at the kids’ table fighting for scraps and key electorates. It’s one of the reasons National continues to poll so highly: if you’re a rightwing voter, you don’t have any other viable options.

How Labour and the Greens win it from here

Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, August 11th, 2014 - 81 comments

A great campaign launch from Labour on the weekend, a couple of bad weeks for National and suddenly there is a chance that David Cunliffe may be our next Prime Minister.  But how does he succeed and what can progressives do to help?

Christine Rankin is standing in Epsom

Written By: - Date published: 10:13 am, August 4th, 2014 - 86 comments

The Conservative Party’s Christine Rankin has announced that she is standing for the Epsom seat.  This will add an extra degree of chaos to what is already an interesting battle.  But will she help the National candidate or the ACT candidate?

Polity: Bye bye, Colin

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, July 28th, 2014 - 18 comments

National has all-but confirmed today that there no deal for Colin Craig in East Coast Bays, or for any other Conservative. This was the right thing for them to do, for one simple reason. This decision came down to simple maths. If Key thought the Conservatives could muster double the votes that a decision to back the Conservatives would cost National in the centre-ground, then he should do the deal. If not, he should not. All the stuff about Winston running was a bit of a late sideshow, as the decision had likely already been made.

Conservative idiots

Written By: - Date published: 2:04 pm, July 20th, 2014 - 65 comments

The Conservatives have made a complete cockup of their “bottom line” for making a deal with National about going into government. They want to make referendums legally binding on the government. It is something that no rational government in NZ would agree with because it is impossible from several different criteria. Andrew Geddis points out that it is pretty well impossible without changing the legal basis of our government. I just think that the questions for our referendums have been complete crap.

NZ First conference – the kingmakers?

Written By: - Date published: 4:48 pm, July 15th, 2014 - 50 comments

It looks like I’ll be able to head to the NZ First conference at Alexandra Park racecourse on the weekend as media. This election the position of NZ First party members is probably going to be crucial for any coalition that forms. In this rather long post I explain my (and other peoples) thinking on possible coalition results for National after the election. They aren’t good because they really depend on a political group that National has been denigrating for quite a while.

Blame the Officials

Written By: - Date published: 9:59 am, July 5th, 2014 - 7 comments

Murray McCully doesn’t accept his responsibilities. He appears to see no need to do more than to blame his officials. Yet his job, under our system of parliamentary government, is to be accountable to parliament for the performance – and failures – of his department.  The McCully doctrine appears to be to suppress public discussion on difficult issues and to limit any adverse fallout for their party. Public officials are convenient sacrificial lambs if things go wrong. This is a bad idea.

McCully is in trouble

Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, July 3rd, 2014 - 151 comments

Murray McCully’s Ministerial career must be close to being finished.  The ineptitude required to allow a diplomat to use diplomatic immunity when clearly Malaysia was completely indifferent to this happening is considerable.  And McCully, who is known as a control freak, claims to have no idea what was happening within his Ministry.

Polity: Colin Craig confused

Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, June 23rd, 2014 - 27 comments

This morning’s news from the Fairfax/Ipsos poll is that 81% of New Zealanders hate coat-tailing and want it gone. I agree with them. So does Labour. So do the Greens. So do Internet MANA. National, of course, relishes coat-tailing. So – to the 81% – if you want 2014 to be the last election with any coat-tailing, vote for a change of government. In the meantime of course, we have Crazy Colin Craig who thinks that Key’s job is to give just him a seat, entirely of his own accord, with no “insipid” discussions about the quid pro quo. Good luck with that.

Colin Craig to run in East Coast Bays – McCully sacrificed

Written By: - Date published: 3:18 pm, June 22nd, 2014 - 47 comments

In a speech today Colin Craig has confirmed that he will be standing in Murray McCully’s seat of East Coast Bays.

Do the Conservatives really want a cup of tea with National?

Written By: - Date published: 6:20 pm, June 17th, 2014 - 22 comments

The Conservative Party appears to have this strategy of insulting National and yet expecting to go into coalition with it and being gifted an electorate seat.  The advertisement for their latest meeting reads like something that I would write.  What is going on?

Humourless Key pours scorn on Civilian

Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, June 10th, 2014 - 44 comments

John Key has been making a joke of the electoral system in recent days with his support of criminal MPs and his veiled attempts to foist the crazy Conservatives on various electorates. But he was quick to pour scorn on a very popular micro-party who were less likely to become a pliant tool of the National party. Clearly he hasn’t realised who the Civilians are satirising and why so many taxpayers support them. Updated with Occasionally erudite’s analysis.

National’s mating dance with the Conservatives

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, June 10th, 2014 - 160 comments

National is clearly getting ready to throw one of its North Shore MPs under a bus in the hope that the Conservative Party can coat tail people with extreme views into Parliament.

Colin Craig wants help with his legal costs …

Written By: - Date published: 11:47 am, March 7th, 2014 - 112 comments

Not to be outdone by the Greens Colin Craig is now seeking donations to help him defend the allegation that he thinks a woman’s place is in the kitchen …

Craig launches defamation case against Key

Written By: - Date published: 11:49 am, March 5th, 2014 - 18 comments

[Satire]  In a surprise move Colin Craig has threatened John Key with defamation proceedings for saying that he is weak and thin skinned, and may believe Elvis is alive and the moon landing was faked.

Colin Craig does not want to disclose his view on gays

Written By: - Date published: 10:51 am, March 4th, 2014 - 70 comments

Colin Craig has announced that he is off to Court to sue someone called Russell Norman who I think is the same person as Greens leader Russel Norman. And he is going to leave documents relating to his views of gays in the closet by only suing Norman for his comments about women. One wonders what he has to hide?

Russel Norman to Colin Craig – Bring it on

Written By: - Date published: 7:28 am, February 18th, 2014 - 121 comments

Colin Craig has threatened Russel Norman with defamation proceedings unless he apologises for saying that Craig prefers women to be in the kitchen and gays should be in the closet.  Norman has refused to apologise.  At the risk of being thrown out of the Lawyers’ union shouldn’t they debate these issues publicly and let the public decide rather than fight it out in Court?

National coalition with NZ First?

Written By: - Date published: 5:00 pm, January 21st, 2014 - 126 comments

Key has refused to rule out the possibility of a National coalition with NZ First after this year’s election.  How desperate is that?

The puppet party, the Mega party and the pro assault party

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, January 12th, 2014 - 201 comments

Politics for the year is shaping up to be very interesting.  In news today ACT puppet master Steven Joyce has failed to persuade Rodney Hide to stand again for Epsom, the Conservatives are aiming to legitimise the use of violence by parents against children and Kim Dotcom is said to be ready to announce his new political party this month.

The new right wing party

Written By: - Date published: 10:53 am, December 10th, 2013 - 172 comments

With ACT’s imminent demise, the Conservatives appearing to be decided flakey and National losing its free market credentials by engaging in crony capitalism the temptation to set up a new political party on the right is increasing.  And you can be assured that money will not be a problem.

The Christchurch East by election gets weird

Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, November 28th, 2013 - 60 comments

The Christchurch East by election is getting really weird.  We have a National candidate who does not turn up to possibly the most important public meeting of the campaign, a spot of petty vandalism committed using a National MP’s van, a conservative party candidate who implies that legs on a billboard are his when they are not, a conservative party leader who does not rule out the possibility of chemtrails existing despite there being no supporting evidence while denying anthropogenic climate change when there is an abundance of evidence in support and Labour and the Greens contesting kindred votes when strategic voting could produce a positive result.

Confused?

Just what do the Conservatives & National agree on?

Written By: - Date published: 7:12 am, November 28th, 2013 - 108 comments

Everybody is talking up the Conservatives as a partner for National after 2014 to save Key from being the least successful National PM ever. But there’s one problem: they don’t agree on anything. The Conservatives are reactionaries, the Nats are neo-libs. Here’s a list of things that Colin ‘Crazy’ Craig believes in and his policies compared to the Nats’.

Too close to call

Written By: - Date published: 5:46 pm, November 27th, 2013 - 111 comments

The latest Roy Morgan poll is out and things are neck and neck.