Country divided: Key can’t rule

Written By: - Date published: 11:25 pm, November 18th, 2014 - 43 comments
Categories: making shit up, Media, Satire - Tags:

Sunday 21 September:

After the election result last night showed how divided the country is, it is unclear how the nation can unite behind John Key to let him be Prime Minister.

Key got less than half the vote, with more of the public not backing him than giving him their vote.

The country was split between a number of contenders and it’s not clear now how it can proceed with Key so undermined by their disunity.

Key got over the line to be PM with backing from the crucial business sector, which will leave him beholden to them, and unable to respond to Joe Public’s interests.

—

Or alternatively, after an election the result is accepted and the electors accept the result and move on.

Labour will unite around Little, no matter how much the media goes on about the unions or slim margins.  It was often a slim margin behind closed doors in caucus (Brash rolling English by John Key switching sides at the last minute for instance) – but once a party has decided, if they get on with it, that margin matters not a jot.

Little: the party’s behind you, and it’s your move.

43 comments on “Country divided: Key can’t rule ”

  • Comments are now closed

  2. Draco T Bastard 2
    18 November 2014 at 11:49 pm

    Little: the party’s behind you, and it’s your move.

    Nice sentiment but apparently not everyone agrees:

    Darien Fenton MWU ‏@DarienFenton 10h10 hours ago
    @mcquillanatorz yep I’m not gonna be nice about this. It’s a disaster

    She has apologised, kinds, but this is the type of shit that the Left just don’t need.

    Now can Labour please, please, please, please, please, take Labour MPs and candidates Twitter accounts off of them as they’re all tweeting disaster areas.

  3. McFlock 3
    18 November 2014 at 11:49 pm

    good call

  4. dale 4
    19 November 2014 at 1:07 am

    Just think about how many caucus votes and membership votes Little got. The party is definitely not behind him. The infighting will continue and as we can already see it will spill into the public domain. Fenton is right this is a disaster.

    • sabine 4.1
      19 November 2014 at 6:27 am

      Maybe the Party needs to realise that they are nothing without the votes of the Citizens.

      so if the leader is called the party can get behind him, or the Party can go fishing.

      It really is that simply. And it is up to us to enforce it.

      Btw. Who is Darien Fenton, and why does she still get to moan publicly about something that does not affect her? If she does not like the outcome booo effn hoo,
      many of us did not like the back stabbing Mr. Cunliffe received, but we moved on.

    • tc 4.2
      19 November 2014 at 6:28 am

      Fenton along with other self serving MP’s like shearer, cosgrove, curran, goff etc are the disaster not another leader that does not suit there personal agenda like the last one.

      • Keith Ross 4.2.1
        19 November 2014 at 7:25 am

        there is a real problem with the long time MPs not getting behind the leader. If they can’t support the leader then they need to get out of the way and let the party move on. I feel that the single largest factor in the loss just past is the inability to support the current leader,whoever it is. This is so blatant and everyone in the public who is not involved knows it.This is supposed to be a democratic organization not some old boys club(that’s the national party). The appearance of this is very off putting for voters like me.It is not the cabinets party or any single persons but an all encompassing democratic party, Isn’t it?TC sums it up in two words – self serving
        support the leader or get out of the way!Poor people like me need this to work.
        Jerry – a concerned voter

  5. Dreamland 5
    19 November 2014 at 7:18 am

    Key got the most votes. The next guy(who was that agin?) wasn’t even close. Get over it.

  6. Tracey 6
    19 November 2014 at 7:35 am

    CAN LABOUR PARTY STOP APOLOGISING FOR HAVING UNION SUPPORT.

    Paddy gower was a dog with a bone. I waited for Little to say

    “Even if you get John Key to apologise for being leader of the Nats on the back of a few people with big bags of cash, I wont apologise for having the support of people working hard on behalf of our most vulnerable workers and their families to get safe workplaces and a fair wage.”

    WHY IS THIS SO FUCKIN HARD FOR THE LP

    If you are in a job with

    Holiday pay
    Paternity leave
    Bereavement leave
    Sick leave

    You have it because of the historic and recent existence of unions. Even if you do not join a union but feel you are wrongfully dismissed you can join and they will legally represent you for free.

    These are not devils.

    • b waghorn 6.1
      19 November 2014 at 7:54 am

      When asked on 3 about his Union support for him Little turned it on to national s problem with people joining together in a single voice .I thought it was a good reply.

    • Clemgeopin 6.2
      19 November 2014 at 10:18 pm

      Even if you do not join a union but feel you are wrongfully dismissed you can join and they will legally represent you for free

      Are you sure? Then what is the incentive or need for anyone to join an union early at all before crap hits the fan?

  7. meconism 7
    19 November 2014 at 7:53 am

    They do not ‘rule’, they govern.

  8. Tautoko Mangō Mata 8
    19 November 2014 at 8:05 am

    +1, Tracey.
    We need to reframe the argument. Unions have been badmouthed by people who want to exploit workers and the only way to fix that is to counter it with the facts.
    The clear, precise counter you give is perfect. Altogether, now

    “If you are in a job with

    Holiday pay
    Paternity leave
    Bereavement leave
    Sick leave

    you have it because of the historic and recent existence of unions. Even if you do not join a union but feel you are wrongfully dismissed you can join and they will legally represent you for free.”

    Thanks, Tracey.

    • Areobubble 8.1
      19 November 2014 at 1:53 pm

      Green entrepreneur s globally are turning the Green movement into cold hard profits.

      Yet instead of the farming sector thanking them for their straight talking, speaking hard truths to farmers, the Herald and rightist press/TV still conflate Greens with flacky and wacky.

      Labour then runs into the corner sobbing the Greens are holding them back.

      Please, Labour get a hold of yourself and start dealing to National anti-Ational agendas that store up bad results. Whether our kids, high incarceration, leaky nonexistent houses, etc, etc.

      Its an absolute disgrace how Labour grovels to Key, like they love him.

      • Clemgeopin 8.1.1
        19 November 2014 at 10:24 pm

        Its an absolute disgrace how Labour grovels to Key, like they love him

        What brand of mung beans are you seeding?

  9. Gosman 9
    19 November 2014 at 9:03 am

    I didn’t realise that the left wing parties were all behind John Key being Prime Minister. Nice to see such unity in the nation at large.

  10. Wayne 10
    19 November 2014 at 9:16 am

    We live in a democracy. People accept that the winner governs. In this instance the winner had a big margin over the next party.

    After 6 years people know what a John Key government is like.

    I reckon things are quite calm compared to the period from about 1970 to say 1993. Nothing like Vietnam, the Springbok tour, the Douglas/Richardson reforms. No leader as divisive as Rob Muldoon.

    Overall it is just politics as usual with the typical debates that occur in a democracy.

    • framu 10.1
      19 November 2014 at 9:54 am

      wow – another one who didnt get the point

      also – the nats didnt win, the coalition they formed did

    • Lanthanide 10.2
      20 November 2014 at 10:18 am

      Lets see:
      – Christchurch earthquakes
      – GFC, largest since the depression
      – Pike river, showing the H&S legacy of National is terrible
      – Leaky buildings hit the fan, showing the building regulations legacy of National is terrible
      – Droughts covering all of the North Island
      – Record dairy payouts, dropping precipitously to 5-year lows within a season
      – Record government debt

      What part of that is “politics as usual”?

  11. fisiani 11
    19 November 2014 at 10:07 am

    The union bosses of the EPMU gave their votes to Andrew Little yet 40% of EPMU members gave their vote to National and in 2017 it will probably be 45% giving their vote to National. National has won the hearts and minds and votes of the centre. The centre are not interested in the Union Party making policy that suits the Unions and not the people in the centre. The Union Party is a dinosaur Party. It used to be a broad church that could be supported by a wide range of society. Waitakere men and women used to be comfortable with Labour but are totally switched off from the Union Party. Changing leader is merely rearranging the deckchairs.

  12. Sable 12
    19 November 2014 at 11:58 am

    Yes Labour will save us “not”. I’m still left shaking my head at the slavish adoration of a party that has behaved in the last 30 years far more like a right leaning political entity than left. It was Labour who kicked off the neo con bullshit we are forced to endure today. Oh but they are Labour. No they are a party called Labour and that’s all.

    The only thing I believe that will radicalize people enough to want to wipe away the ugly philosophy of greed and graft is the passage of the TPPA. Indeed even then it may take a few years worth of pillage by the US before people have had enough and oust those responsible. Labour and National are both in their own way culpable and I think even now many people are slowly waking up to this fact. I don’t see a future for either party once people realize the degree to which they have been deceived and that is no bad thing.

  13. KJS0ne 13
    19 November 2014 at 12:03 pm

    Am I the only leftie which thinks this sort of thinking is head in the clouds bullshit? This is MMP, absolute majorities are hard to achieve for even extremely popular parties. Saying that Key will not be able to rule this close to an election where they won convincingly is just foggy thinking.

    • karol 13.1
      19 November 2014 at 12:05 pm

      Did you see the “satire” tag at the top of the post? Do you not understand the parallel being drawn with the negative reactions to Little being elected Labour leader?

      • KJS0ne 13.1.1
        19 November 2014 at 2:10 pm

        Oh my bad, I did not see the satire tag, I don’t often read tags. Consider me fooled. And yes now, the parallel is evidently clear and the point being made is a good one.

  14. Areobubble 14
    19 November 2014 at 2:35 pm

    Talk in EU of deflation. Diary prices continue to drop. China no year of dragon soon.

    Key came to power, lower company tax rates, switch the tax system so lower and middle incomers would pay more of the gross tax revenue. Farmers went boring for dairy conversions. Millions invested.

    Now we stand waiting for the farm debt crisis. Housing prices liable to stagnate all thing be equal, which they are not, all it takes is a rollout of fibre to shift workforces to the regions and burst Auckands bubble.

    So what a mess Key got us into.

    • Liberal Realist 14.1
      20 November 2014 at 9:22 pm

      You forgot to mention; theft of public assets for private gain, bailouts for dodgy finance companies, effectively encouraging the Auckland housing bubble (by doing nothing) and the list goes on. Not to mention the continuous attack on beneficiaries, worker & civil rights. Then there’s the blatant naked disregard for democracy that is ‘Dirty Politics’.

      Key and NAct have caused much more than just a mess. They’re unmitigated disaster!

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    Maori and Pasifika smoking rates are already over twice the ‘all adult’ rate. Now the revenue that generates will be used to fund National’s tax cuts. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The devil is always in the detail and it emerged over the weekend from the guts of the policy agreements National ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • How the culture will change in the Beehive
    Perhaps the biggest change that will come to the Beehive as the new government settles in will be a fundamental culture change. The era of endless consultation will be over. This looks like a government that knows what it wants to do, and that means it knows what outcomes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • No More Winnie Blues.
    So what do you think of the coalition’s decision to cancel Smokefree measures intended to stop young people, including an over representation of Māori, from taking up smoking? Enabling them to use the tax revenue to give other people a tax cut?David Cormack summed it up well:It seems not only ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #47
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 19, 2023 thru Sat, Nov 25, 2023.  Story of the Week World stands on frontline of disaster at Cop28, says UN climate chief  Exclusive: Simon Stiell says leaders must ‘stop ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Some of it is mad, some of it is bad and some of it is clearly the work of people who are dangerous ...
    On announcement morning my mate texted:Typical of this cut-price, fake-deal government to announce itself on Black Friday.What a deal. We lose Kim Hill, we gain an empty, jargonising prime minister, a belligerent conspiracist, and a heartless Ayn Rand fanboy. One door closes, another gets slammed repeatedly in your face.It seems pretty ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • “Revolution” is the threat as the Māori Party smarts at coalition government’s Treaty directi...
    Buzz from the Beehive Having found no fresh announcements on the government’s official website, Point of Order turned today to Scoop’s Latest Parliament Headlines  for its buzz. This provided us with evidence that the Māori Party has been soured by the the coalition agreement announced yesterday by the new PM. “Soured” ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • The Good, the Bad, and the even Worse.
    Yesterday the trio that will lead our country unveiled their vision for New Zealand.Seymour looking surprisingly statesmanlike, refusing to rise to barbs about his previous comments on Winston Peters. Almost as if they had just been slapstick for the crowd.Winston was mostly focussed on settling scores with the media, making ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • When it Comes to Palestine – Free Speech is Under Threat
    Hi,Thanks for getting amongst Mister Organ on digital — thanks to you, we hit the #1 doc spot on iTunes this week. This response goes a long way to helping us break even.I feel good about that. Other things — not so much.New Zealand finally has a new government, and ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • Thank you Captain Luxon. Was that a landing, or were we shot down?
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Also in More Than A FeildingFriday The unboxing And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • Cans of Worms.
    “And there’ll be no shortage of ‘events’ to test Luxon’s political skills. David Seymour wants a referendum on the Treaty. Winston wants a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Labour’s handling of the Covid crisis. Talk about cans of worms!”LAURIE AND LES were very fond of their local. It was nothing ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Disinformation campaigns are undermining democracy. Here’s how we can fight back
    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Misinformation is debated everywhere and has justifiably sparked concerns. It can polarise the public, reduce health-protective behaviours such as mask wearing and vaccination, and erode trust in science. Much of misinformation is spread not ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Peters as Minister
    A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record.1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is not even an entry in Wikipedia. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago

  • The New Government: 2023 Edition
    So New Zealand has a brand-spanking new right-wing government. Not just any new government either. A formal majority coalition, of the sort last seen in 1996-1998 (our governmental arrangements for the past quarter of a century have been varying flavours of minority coalition or single-party minority, with great emphasis ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • The unboxing
    And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the tree with its gold ribbon but can turn out to be nothing more than a big box holding a voucher for socks, so it ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • A cruel, vicious, nasty government
    So, after weeks of negotiations, we finally have a government, with a three-party cabinet and a time-sharing deputy PM arrangement. Newsroom's Marc Daalder has put the various coalition documents online, and I've been reading through them. A few things stand out: Luxon doesn't want to do any work, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Hurrah – we have a new government (National, ACT and New Zealand First commit “to deliver for al...
    Buzz from the Beehive Sorry, there has been  no fresh news on the government’s official website since the caretaker trade minister’s press statement about the European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement. But the capital is abuzz with news – and media comment is quickly flowing – after ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Christopher Luxon – NZ PM #42.
    Nothing says strong and stable like having your government announcement delayed by a day because one of your deputies wants to remind everyone, but mostly you, who wears the trousers. It was all a bit embarrassing yesterday with the parties descending on Wellington before pulling out of proceedings. There are ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Coalition Government details policies & ministers
    Winston Peters will be Deputy PM for the first half of the Coalition Government’s three-year term, with David Seymour being Deputy PM for the second half. Photo montage by Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: PM-Elect Christopher Luxon has announced the formation of a joint National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government with a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • “Old Coat” by Peter, Paul & Mary.
     THERE ARE SOME SONGS that seem to come from a place that is at once in and out of the world. Written by men and women who, for a brief moment, are granted access to that strange, collective compendium of human experience that comes from, and belongs to, all the ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Weekly Roundup 23-November-2023
    It’s Friday again! Maybe today we’ll finally have a government again. Roll into the weekend with some of the articles that caught our attention this week. And as always, feel free to add your links and observations in the comments. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    7 days ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s strategy for COP28 in Dubai
    The COP28 countdown is on. Over 100 world leaders are expected to attend this year’s UN Climate Change Conference in in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which starts next Thursday. Among the VIPs confirmed for the Dubai summit are the UK’s Rishi Sunak and Brazil’s Lula da Silva – along ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    7 days ago

  • Coalition talks: a timeline
    Media demand to know why a coalition government has yet to be formed. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    7 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Nov 24
    Luxon was no doubt relieved to be able to announce a coalition agreement has been reached, but we still have to wait to hear the detail. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago

  • Passing Things Down.
    Keeping The Past Alive: The durability of Commando comics testifies to the extended nature of the generational passing down of the images, music, and ideology of the Second World War. It has remained fixed in the Baby Boomers’ consciousness as “The Good War”: the conflict in which, to a far ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #47 2023
    Open access notables How warped are we by fossil fuel dependency? Despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine, 35-40 million cubic meters per day of Russian natural gas are piped across Ukraine for European consumption every single day, right now. In order to secure European cooperation against Russian aggression, Ukraine must help to ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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