Clem Simich stepping down
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3:13 pm, April 28th, 2008 - 14 comments
Categories: national -
Tags: national
Clem Simich has just announced he will be stepping down at the election. As regular readers may have noticed I’m not generally a fan of National MPs, but Simich’s liberal voting record made him one of the better ones.
To see Simich leaving to make room for the likes of Stephen Franks is not encouraging. He’ll be a loss to Parliament.
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Another of National’s few liberal MPs jumps ship. First Katherine, now Clem. Who’s left?
Forget the phoney “Presidential” campaigns and coverage. It’s high time the nation’s political journalists got to grips with four basic facts, and worked out the implications:
1) It is a party vote. Not a leader vote.
2) The leader is chosen by the caucus.
3) The National Party caucus replaced its leader after the elections of 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005 …
4) The National Party caucus is moving to the right.
“Thanks, John, votes counted, job done. Now close the door on your way out.”
Oh, what a load of ballocks. Simich was a waste of skin. You know it, I know it, even he knows it. The only reason you now find anything admirable about him is that he is retiring and it suits your conspiracy theory.
From National’s perspective perhaps, but I liked the idea of having a few liberals inside the National Party – especially when conscience votes came down to the wire.
I am all for liberals of the right sort, Tane. Give me a Chris Finalyson over a John Carter any day. I just never saw Simich as anything but a time server with highly unusual taste in facial hair.
Only ever really talked to the man once — we addressed the same meeting — and he seemed both honourable and reasonable. Couldn’t say that about that many of his colleagues. He was never going to be a high flyer, but he was well placed in his Deputy Speaker role, probably because of these qualities.
As you say, he will probably be replaced by an odious right-winger, and following the departure of Rich, who was probably a more effective moderating influence, this is disconcerting. It is not a good trend for New Zealand.
jafapete,
As you say, he will probably be replaced by an odious right-winger, and following the departure of Rich, who was probably a more effective moderating influence, this is disconcerting. It is not a good trend for New Zealand.
Oh really. Are you the spokesman for what’s good and bad for New Zealand? Isn’t that what elections are for? You know, the people deciding what they think is good for them and their country.
“Isn’t that what elections are for?”
Yup, Scribe, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that, should the Nats win this year, it’s because NZ voters are panting for odious right-wingers. In case you haven’t noticed, after three elections where the voters have decided that the right is not what’s good for the country, Key and co have decided that they need to act like Labour-lite to win.
Sorry you couldn’t work out that I was expressing an opinion. I’ll be a little more clear then: I think that the ascendancy of the extreme right, in thrall to the likes of Rove, Coulter et al., will degrade our political life, to NZ’s detriment.
Happy now?
Tane your definition of Liberal would seem to include; lazy, timeserver, waste of space. I am surprised that you would lament national clearing a bit of dead wood in much the same way that labour have been doing
that is a meedia attitude bb. MP’s are there supposedly to represent their electorate not pander to someone elses fantasy about what members are there for. they are there to do the business not be part of a permanent popularity poll cum circus that is only good for selling newspapers. who says they are dead wood? the papers or the electorate?
“He’ll be a loss to Parliament.
Loss? My backside.
Simich has been a poor, mediocre MP, who was invisible most of the time and achieved nothing. Good riddance.
“I’m not generally a fan of National MPs”
Really? 😉
Randall, the only thing that stopped simich going down as the biggest effort vacuum in the last decade was ann hartley
Got to say that I had no idea that Simich was as old as 68 (69 when he finally finishes up).