Does Key want it?

Written By: - Date published: 12:07 pm, August 29th, 2014 - 66 comments
Categories: john key - Tags:

There’s been a couple of stories from pundits recently questioning how much Cunliffe “wants it”.  But last night, there was only one participant in the debate who looked disinterested and unhappy to be there, and it was John Key.

Has he had enough?  Is he ready to be rolled (by Collins?) after the election, regardless of the result?

While Cunliffe bossed the debate, Key stood with his hand in his pocket trying to deny reality –

  • 32,000 more people out of work than when he started office – not true (except it is).
  • Median income in 13 out of 16 regions has fallen in real terms – not true (except it is).

Unfortunately Pete George’s Politicheck seems to have died in early June, so can’t show Key up. Maybe they should have got someone else to run it…

Key’s attempt at a zinger – that the number of NZers going to Australia has fallen to 80 and he can name them – just came across as creepy from a man with GCSB/SIS problems.

It was also wrong – the number is actually 79 and it is net – so there’s no way he can name the ‘individuals’. (As ever it’s nice of him to claim credit for the decline of the Australian economy…)

But National voters will need to ask themselves – if JK’s your only reason to vote blue, is he even going to be there?

 

66 comments on “Does Key want it? ”

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  1. Kiwiri 1
    29 August 2014 at 12:22 pm

    Collins’ chances of rolling John Key is increasing with each passing day, while his ability to sack her is decreasing.

    To recover his power, John Key needs political chemotherapy administered internally for his Cabinet and National’s new candidates line-up.

    • Colonial Viper 1.1
      29 August 2014 at 3:04 pm

      Collins won’t have to roll Key – he will walk away from Parliament the week after he loses. (I see Tracey has made the exact same point).

      • weka 1.1.1
        29 August 2014 at 3:10 pm

        Do you think that National will accept Collins as leader? Or won’t have any choice?

        My mind is boggling at the idea that NZ would have such a person leading one of the main political parties. Yes, I know that Key is no better, but this is so overt.

        • Colonial Viper 1.1.1.1
          29 August 2014 at 3:20 pm

          There’s going to be a war for the soul of the National Party – in fact it has probably been going on for quite some time at least in cold form. Collins cred s severely damaged thanks to Hager, but she is acting like she can still pull off being PM Collins. Many others in the party will be less sure. So the answer is – National is in for a couple of years of strife, whether inside or outside Government.

      • David H 1.1.2
        29 August 2014 at 5:54 pm

        A week? More like. We lost. Hello Airline..

  2. weka 2
    29 August 2014 at 12:22 pm

    Is Collins a serious contender all things considered? Does the National Party not have any internal mechanisms for maintaining even a shred of integrity?

    btw, someone speculated in OM that Peters claim of a visit from a Collins bag man refers to something that happend in the past, not recently. Tricky old Peters, eh?

    http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-29082014/#comment-875536

    • Tracey 2.1
      29 August 2014 at 12:39 pm

      i cant see collins rolling Key pre election. That is crazy talk, imo.If Key loses, he will resign, no one will need to roll him.

      • Kiwiri 2.1.1
        29 August 2014 at 12:52 pm

        If Key cobbles together a new government, it won’t be long before Collins rolls him.

        • Tracey 2.1.1.1
          29 August 2014 at 1:09 pm

          I still dont think the nats will choose collins

          • blue leopard 2.1.1.1.1
            29 August 2014 at 1:14 pm

            The Nats will choose whoever they are told to choose. You perhaps forgot how brow beaten, sycophantic and obedient they are in relation to their masters (i.e. the ones dishing out the $$$)

            • Kiwiri 2.1.1.1.1.1
              29 August 2014 at 1:40 pm

              Yup. They have just done it to the 17. They have done it in the past. They will do it again.

              • Colonial Viper …
                29 August 2014 at 3:09 pm

                The NATs have powerful backers yes but they are not all from the same faction – it is the accommodation between the factions (if any) which will be what is interesting.

                • blue leopard …
                  29 August 2014 at 3:19 pm

                  There must be a strong agreement in the people sponsoring National because look at what happened when English was leader – a huge chunk of financial support was removed and placed over the party in a blackmail type manner as detailed in Hager’s Hollowmen book. National caved. Do you think this has changed? I don’t.

                  Nats powerful backers are all cut from very similar cloth One percenters with ‘It is all for one and its all for me” attitudes. [Thanks Darren Watson 🙂 ].

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    29 August 2014 at 3:22 pm

                    look at what happened when English was leader – a huge chunk of financial support was removed and placed over the party in a blackmail type manner as detailed in Hager’s Hollowmen book. National caved. Do you think this has changed? I don’t.

                    Yes National did largely cave – but the English faction remained so strong nonetheless that they had to make Bill Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister.

                    • blue leopard …
                      29 August 2014 at 3:29 pm

                      English’s lot are clearly not the ones with the bulk of the money. This is what I was trying to highlight in my initial comment and I have established that in my last comment.

                      National will cave in when it comes to funding. They are slaves to money and are trying to make us all that way too. Their ideology, whether English’s variety or the hard right faction’s, inevitably leads to that type of obedience and slavery and lack of real freedom. People en masse really need to make that connection. Their ideology is a complete failure.

                      Which is why it is so delightful to see it all playing out so publicly. 😀

            • infused 2.1.1.1.1.2
              29 August 2014 at 3:44 pm

              No they won’t.

        • Pete 2.1.1.2
          29 August 2014 at 1:21 pm

          Does she have the numbers? I can’t see her faction having a clear majority. Nor can I see Joyce making his way through. I would have thought they’d go for English, but he won’t have an electorate seat in the next Parliament and I don’t think they’d pick a leader who no longer has some home turf. Going through the current cabinet, that really only leaves Paula Bennett as an Auckland-based compromise candidate.

    • yeshe 2.2
      29 August 2014 at 12:58 pm

      @weka: Peters confirmed on TV3 News this am that it happened earlier this year just prior to main Oravida scandal and also he is willing to sign an affidavit.

      • weka 2.2.1
        29 August 2014 at 1:15 pm

        thanks yeshe.

        • Kiwiri 2.2.1.1
          29 August 2014 at 1:27 pm

          Winston P is being interviewed on RadioLive at the mo.

          • Kiwiri 2.2.1.1.1
            29 August 2014 at 1:59 pm

            Winston saying parties being bought.
            Who is funding his party? Transparency and full disclosure for NZ First please.

            • Enough is Enough 2.2.1.1.1.1
              29 August 2014 at 2:42 pm

              I am hearing there already has been a Collins coup that Key is a part of.

              You will have noticed there has been a huge purge of the current National MPs. Rumour has it they have been paid off to shut and fuck off. 300k each.

              They are being replaced by Collins sympathisers.

              17 Joyce loyalists are out replaced with how ever many get elected Collins players.

              Key is involved in this and has approved the process.

              Not to roll him but to ensure power is handed over without Joyce making an open war out of it.

  3. repateet 3
    29 August 2014 at 12:31 pm

    “…Key stood with his hand in his pocket trying to deny reality…”

    So, what’s unusual about that? Oh, I know – he had hand his hand in his pocket!

  4. Bill Drees 4
    29 August 2014 at 12:42 pm

    Of course he does FFS!
    Stop day dreaming that this will be an easy election.
    Key is a sleeze and a smiling assassin. But he is still proud, professional and capable. We have to beat Key and the National Party on many fronts.

    Cunliffe is a better debater anytime. Key was off his game last night. He will be back.

    • Saarbo 4.1
      29 August 2014 at 12:55 pm

      Yes, he will be back. I think in both David Cunliffe and John Key you have 2 incredibly formidable competitors. I was thinking last night how Cunliffe must have felt going into that debate after hearing the herald Digi Poll results (subsequent to Dirty Politics etc) to be able to perform like he did shows how he handles pressure, personally I would have been a trembling mess under the same circumstances. And Im sure Key’s pressure threshold is similar to Cunliffe’s, …next debate is going to be bloody exciting.

      One thing is for sure, Key wont give up under these circumstances.

    • Chris 4.2
      29 August 2014 at 12:59 pm

      He was off his game because he knows something’s up. All this Collins stuff is straight out of Hollow Men and Dirty Politics: replace the old guard with far-right Lusk-trained newbies from the tobacco, alcohol industries and the like. Collins is their guru. What Collins has over Key is that she knows Key approved of all this Slater stuff so long as he was kept an arms length away (and/or his knowledge of Dotcom). Key is far-right, too, of course, but the added variable here is that these people eat their own. Regardless of the election result Collins would roll Key at the blink of an eye. She’ll will be hoping the Inspector-General’s report will slam Key but if it doesn’t she’ll make sure she spills the beans on him. Even if she comes off badly in the report herself she’ll have the numbers with the help of National’s new army of far-right nasties.

    • Not a PS Staffer 4.3
      29 August 2014 at 1:14 pm

      Cunliffe will hold his own in debates.

      Cunliffe has proven it time after time in the Parliament as a minister, backbencher and leader of the opposition. Some of the speeces he gave off-the-cuff is Parliament were stunningly good.
      That is why the membership voted for him.
      Key is very good and will do a lot better the next time.

      We have to beat the Nats at the door step as well as in the media.
      Canvassing this weekend?

      • Colonial Viper 4.3.1
        29 August 2014 at 3:14 pm

        Yep, the team I am working with will be up supporting our Waitaki Labour Party candidate Glenda Alexander this weekend.

    • emergency mike 4.4
      29 August 2014 at 1:17 pm

      Yes, Labour have made a habit of underestimating Key for too long. It’s possible Key was saving his best zingers for the later debates, and is happy to let Cunliffe get overconfident at this stage. He will lift his game.

      However he really did look over it in this one. Cunliffe just needs to keep calm, and stay well prepared. I think many people saw a non four second soundbite version of David Cunliffe last night that looked much more favourable. Same for Key, but replace ‘favourable’ with ‘unfavourable’.

  5. Kevin Welsh 5
    29 August 2014 at 1:03 pm

    I think Collins will wait until after the election as she probably realises, like Shipley before her, that she is unelectable on her merits.

    • Kiwiri 5.1
      29 August 2014 at 1:36 pm

      Collins is Shipley 2.0.
      With more virus, spyware, poisonous cookies and malicious software (malware).

      • yeshe 5.1.1
        29 August 2014 at 2:08 pm

        Maybe there is another Chinese bank who needs a Kiwi chairperson just as Shipley and Brash have done ? It is where old Nats go to die it seems. Wish they would go off shore and do it though and not sell us out any further for their personal greedy ends.

  6. vto 6
    29 August 2014 at 1:35 pm

    Of course Key doesn’t want it.

    Key has never wanted it, except as some fantasy schoolboy dream that he has never even understood. It is the reason he comes across the way he has during his time as PM…… doesn’t really matter …… oh well …….. shrug ……….. going on holiday ………….. pretty relaxed ……….. doesn’t actually care …….

    Of course I think he now suspects that even if he disappears from the scene he will be pursued for actions taken during his tenure….. methinks this post-PM burn is what is concerning him.

    • Olwyn 6.1
      29 August 2014 at 1:50 pm

      I have thought something similar – and that the passports at chez Key will currently be stored within very easy reach.

      • Kiwiri 6.1.1
        29 August 2014 at 1:58 pm

        some fantasy schoolboy dream

        He didn’t work for it.

        JK got parachuted into Parliament by Boag arranging for bombs to be dropped on Brian Neeson (Helensville electorate).

        • yeshe 6.1.1.1
          29 August 2014 at 2:12 pm

          Post-PM burn sounds very appealing. But let’s remember we have much more to come from Whaledump according to Nicky Hager .. and there is KDC’s surprise also …

          Pre-election burn sounds even more appealing to me !

  7. Valleyman 7
    29 August 2014 at 1:44 pm

    Looking at Keys performance last night, he gave the impression he is not really to fussed whether he wins or not & seemed to be somewhere else, quite possibly thinking about going home to Hawaii for a round of golf or how his three way with Collins & Slater is going pear shaped.

    • The Pink Postman 7.1
      29 August 2014 at 2:13 pm

      Maybe he had a drink to many . He certainly likes alchohol and appears to guzzle it down.

      • bad politics 7.1.1
        29 August 2014 at 6:32 pm

        No, he has orders to stay off the booze during the election, which poses the question why? He visited a winery today & he couldn’t have a drink! Not even one? Now lets see Cunliffe visit some wineries & show he can handle his booze. Key said in CHCH a few weeks back that the health benefits if quitting alcohol was “bullshit”. I cannot find direct link, someone mentions the quote here on Reddit, but I saw it in the CHCH Press a few weeks back (before Dirty Politics book).

        • One Anonymous Bloke 7.1.1.1
          30 August 2014 at 7:30 am

          Election drinking contest. Yeah nah, do you really want Winston to win? 🙂

    • Waiura 7.2
      30 August 2014 at 7:06 am

      Try serving a writ in Hawa’ii ..

  8. Valleyman 8
    29 August 2014 at 1:49 pm

    Of course Johnny boy wants it, after all he’s been having a threesome with Collins & Slater for years.

  9. Bob 9
    29 August 2014 at 2:27 pm

    “•32,000 more people out of work than when he started office – not true (except it is).”
    True (it actually may be slightly higher than that, I can only find a pdf graph on the stats website and this looks like around 35,000), but you could equally say there are 128,000 more people IN work since Key took office, so it isn’t too over the top for Key to question the use of that stat: http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/key_graphs/employment/

    “•Median income in 13 out of 16 regions has fallen in real terms – not true (except it is).”
    Again true, if you only look at the last year, but at the same time Females wages are increasing faster than males and household incomes are increasing much faster than investment incomes (that doesn’t fit the ‘Rich Mates’ line does it?): http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/income-and-work/Income/NZIncomeSurvey_HOTPJun13qtr/Commentary.aspx

    Investment income: Median weekly income from investments (for those receiving this source of income) was unchanged, at $13.
    Household income: Median weekly household income from all sources increased $54 (4.1 percent), to $1,358.

    I’m not saying you are wrong in your statements, but I am trying to point out that statistics can often be swung any way you like, so it is twisted reality that he was denying.

    “Unfortunately Pete George’s Politicheck seems to have died in early June, so can’t show Key up. Maybe they should have got someone else to run it…” You are welcome.

  10. Pete 10
    29 August 2014 at 3:08 pm

    1945: Winston Churchill, spectacularly popular, calls a general election before the war is even over. Attlee wins in a landslide.

  11. infused 11
    29 August 2014 at 3:39 pm

    National would drop a lot of votes if Collins lead the way. Me included.

    Seriously can’t see it happening.

    • Kevin 11.1
      29 August 2014 at 4:12 pm

      What about after the election Infused? What then..?

    • One Anonymous Bloke 11.2
      29 August 2014 at 4:22 pm

      Well said Infused. You will no doubt take this as offered in bad faith: I believe there are better wingnuts and your country needs you. Figure out a way to represent the low-IQ bigots in a way that lifts them up rather than panders to them.

      You face a cynical and unscrupulous adversary in your own party. Good luck with that.

    • minarch 11.3
      29 August 2014 at 4:50 pm

      JK will drop a lot of nuts when Collins gooses him after the election…

  12. Rodel 12
    29 August 2014 at 8:05 pm

    Memo from John Key to David Cunliffe.

    Dave..As you’re now PM just give me my f***ing knighthood and I’ll go away and stay on the beach in Hawaii and recant on my bucket list so people can say,. ‘ is that Sir John? Must go and say hello to him and ask about his memoirs.. And Stephen..how’s he doing?’

    God it’s hard to be positive sometimes. No, they both did well last night. Both of them probably nice fellas deep down.

  13. Fee 13
    29 August 2014 at 9:40 pm

    Does Mr Key’s voice sound different in the TVads?

  14. Whateva next? 14
    29 August 2014 at 10:59 pm

    Key’s “layed back” style looks more like he can’t be arsed the closer we get to election day.

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