English: do what we need to do to win

Written By: - Date published: 3:17 pm, May 8th, 2010 - 23 comments
Categories: bill english, election 2011, maori party, national - Tags: , ,

An informative quote from Bill English trying to assuage National Party member who are concerned that the Party is betraying its principles (ha!) and giving too much to the Maori Party:

“On any given day over the next period, as you start thinking about the next election, the Government is going to be involved with some decisions that you don’t like, some decisions you may disagree with. I want to reassure you about two things. The first is that all those decisions are being made in the context of the longer-term view, reaching our objectives over the next four or five years, not the next four or five days, and secondly that in my experience the Parliamentary team have very sound instincts about most of these issues.”

Now, you know that in my opinion the DRIP, Whanau Ora (with its budget that’s only the same as two cycleways), and the Foreshore and Seabed are hollow gestures – all symbol, no signified. But that’s not the way a lot of National voters see it. They see selling out to the ‘Maoris’.

English’s message to them is that buttering up the Maori Party is crucial to winning a second term. National has to do things it otherwise wouldn’t because the next election is likely to produce an outcome that will mean National can’t govern with the Maori Party. That’s what English means by “all those decisions are being made in the context of the longer-term view, reaching our objectives over the next four or five years” – winning a second term trumps principle. It’s about power for its own sake.

This cynical, unprincipled politics is typical of the Key/English leadership. Remember what English said before the last election about National’s campaign strategy:

“there’s nothing that beats winning in politics, despite all our highly principled statements… do what you need to do to win”

It seems they’re governing the same way they campaigned.

23 comments on “English: do what we need to do to win ”

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  1. Clipbox 1
    8 May 2010 at 4:07 pm

    The first is that all those decisions are being made in the context of the longer-term view, reaching our objectives over the next four or five years, not the next four or five days…

    Wow, four to five years is long term?

  2. Peter Johns 2
    8 May 2010 at 4:19 pm

    Pot, kettle, black Marty. Bit like student loans, do what you need to stay in power. Look at the cost of this bribe now and escalating. Another fiscal present from Cullen.

    • Clipbox 2.1
      8 May 2010 at 4:42 pm

      You don’t see National cancelling it do you? All they want to do is charge an extra $50 for everyone with a loan after they graduate which will pocket a pathetic $15 million.

      • ianmac 2.1.1
        8 May 2010 at 10:53 pm

        But it is a paper fee which just adds to the debt. Dopey.
        But I wonder if once established, they can add significantly to the size of the extras at a later date. Thin end and all that.

    • Lanthanide 2.2
      8 May 2010 at 4:59 pm

      Imagine what the cost would’ve been with even more of our tertiary educated people going overseas to escape their debt.

      I’ve stayed in NZ, and thankfully have never paid interest on my loan. But if I’d had to pay interest when I graduated, I would’ve considered going to Aus. I certainly would’ve changed other things in my life.

    • Marty G 2.3
      8 May 2010 at 5:12 pm

      tertiary education should be free. Must be free if we want to have an educated workforce.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.4
      8 May 2010 at 5:49 pm

      Education is what takes a community forward. Capitalism is what holds it back and costs far too much.

  3. Rex Widerstrom 3
    8 May 2010 at 4:25 pm

    The kind of deep seated cycnicism you imply?

    Or a salve to the extremists who want to see things go even further?

    A bit of both?

    Or just politics as usual… pretty much the thinking to be expected, sadly, from any political party (c.f. Rudd Labor and it’s backdown on an ETS, “the greatest moral challenge of our time” etc etc).

    All of the above, I’d say.

  4. Draco T Bastard 4
    8 May 2010 at 5:48 pm

    It’s pretty much Blinglish admitting the secret agenda. The attitude is that they can coax the majority people into voting against their best interests so that the few can have more if they do it slowly enough.

  5. Santi 5
    8 May 2010 at 6:52 pm

    English and Key are cunning bastards. Pity Goff is even more pathetic (and useless).

  6. big bruv 6
    8 May 2010 at 7:07 pm

    Yep, they must secure a second term, the question is, how do they do it?

    I have the answer, they could rush out and buy a train set that NOBODY else wanted, the price they pay for it could be four time what it is estimated to be worth.

    Oh…hang on…..

    • r0b 6.1
      8 May 2010 at 10:38 pm

      BB – I heard it was 16 times its estimated worth. Quick – go tell them all at the sewer…

    • Jenny 6.2
      8 May 2010 at 11:24 pm

      Come on BB stop holding out on us. What’s the name of the insurance company you say that I can go to insure against redundancy.

      I really would like to know.

      Surely you weren’t lying about that, were you?

      I mean if you were lying about that, doesn’t this discredit all the other extraordinary right wing claims you make?

      Oh and the thing about the trains, they were only worth nothing because they had been run into the ground by their private owners, who closed all the workshops, laid off all the maintenance workers and generally asset stripped it.

      Unfortunately for us, the public, we had to bail the railways out, because believe it or not it is a vital party of any modern state’s infrastructure, especially if you have an export based economy that depends on moving large amounts of bulk freight.

      After your guys broke it, we had to fix it.

      Another case of privatising the profits and socialising the losses.

      So much for the free market, millionaire corporations with their hands in the public pocket ripping us off, by destroying strategic assets for private gain.

      • Lanthanide 6.2.1
        10 May 2010 at 9:50 am

        Jenny, I posted this elsewhere but you may not see it.

        I have redundancy protection insurance through ANZ and whoever it is that underwrites their insurance now. Such insurance does exist.

  7. Rharn 7
    8 May 2010 at 7:13 pm

    Long term is that English and Key are setting up divisions between Maori and European Kiwi’s that will last long after English and Key have gone to their graves. All this for the sake of maintaining power for the benefit of those few who actually ‘benefit’ with Nact’s policies.

    • Draco T Bastard 7.1
      8 May 2010 at 8:08 pm

      Exactly

      They’re setting more mistrust in our society between people so that they and their rich mates can rob us blind while we’re being distracted by “them”. The Maori Party isn’t helping.

      • Tigger 7.1.1
        8 May 2010 at 10:48 pm

        Let’s not limit this to just Maori/Non-Maori (some of us aren’t Maori and aren’t ‘European’). They’re setting lots of different classes of people against each other – divide and conquer works in the short term but in the long term you end up creating wars.

  8. Gooner 8
    8 May 2010 at 7:54 pm

    You don’t seriously believe English do you?

    Key said the same things in his state of the nation speech and we’ve seen very little of any step-change or transformation.

    • Draco T Bastard 8.1
      8 May 2010 at 8:09 pm

      /facepalm

      Yeah, they’re taking it slowly in the hopes that everyone else won’t see their real agenda which is exactly what Blinglish said.

      • ianmac 8.1.1
        8 May 2010 at 9:39 pm

        Yes. It sort of fits. Play the lulling now and then make some promises during the next election, leading to a big time right wing agenda. Suffer looking a bit foolish now and line up the ducks for post 2011. They look smug.

  9. SHG 9
    8 May 2010 at 11:54 pm

    National has to do things it otherwise wouldn’t

    Oh noes, don’t tell me a political party is having to water down its more extremist positions to accommodate a coalition partner! Why didn’t someone warn us that this would happen with MMP?

    No, wait. That’s the way MMP is designed to work. Silly me.

  10. Zaphod Beeblebrox 10
    9 May 2010 at 6:24 pm

    When you have no strong beliefs about anything, I guess its easy to use the means justifies the ends argument. Looks like they have found a kindred spirit in the Maori Party leadership who obviously believe the same thing. “Whatever it takes’ could easily be the motto of both coalition partners.