English to lead the National Party?

Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, August 22nd, 2014 - 67 comments
Categories: bill english, john key, leadership, national - Tags: ,

Bill English was the first senior Nat to distance himself from Key’s dirty politics. Now, according to one of our commenters (Tracey) who was called, the Nats’ polling company is sounding out English as a possible party leader.

With Key caught in a major lie over the SIS document release, it looks like the Nats might need their “Plan B”.

67 comments on “English to lead the National Party? ”

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  1. Enough is Enough 1
    22 August 2014 at 9:00 am

    The one way for the Nats to put an end to the endless negative media attention is to retire the “Key” player from this sorry saga.

    English will be doing the numbers. He has never forgiven Key and others who voted against him in the Brash coup.

    This will happen in the next 24 hours before the campaign launch.

    • David H 1.1
      22 August 2014 at 12:31 pm

      And Collins as well, she’s as ‘dirty’ as he is.

      • Enough is Enough 1.1.1
        22 August 2014 at 12:33 pm

        Yep – Collins is fucked without Key.

        They will go together. This is the end of the National Party as we know it.

        They will splinter now.

        • AmaKiwi 1.1.1.1
          22 August 2014 at 1:43 pm

          I am not sure this is the end of the National Party.

          There are a lot of intelligent people well to the right of Labour, particularly a Labour/Green coalition.

          Watergate only set the Republicans back one presidential election (Jimmy Carter). They came back 4 years later, (Reagan) even more conservative than Nixon.

          • meconism 1.1.1.1.1
            22 August 2014 at 4:36 pm

            They were a brand new party; the GOP got taken over during Carter, and religiously and economically driven way right. Nixon passed the EPA legislation, no hero of mine but he wouldn’t get in the fuckin GOP these days.

            • lurgee 1.1.1.1.1.1
              22 August 2014 at 9:11 pm

              Of course, English learned the hard way not to be too wet and centrist. He’ll still have to embrace the policies of his party’s paymasters.

  2. Lanthanide 2
    22 August 2014 at 9:00 am

    Yip, I’ve been musing if all of this is enough for Key to resign, or for there to be a coup. Probably not, unfortunately.

    We’ll have to see what KDC has planned for the 15th.

    • AmaKiwi 2.1
      22 August 2014 at 1:50 pm

      I am betting it will be a shocker. There are legendary mega stars in the IT world including Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, and Kim Dotcom.

      Glenn Greenwald (who is now the editor of Snowden document releases) is not coming here on Sept. 15 to give Dotcom a hug and pat on the back. I am sure he is coming here to drop some Snowden thermonuclear document bombs on Key & Co.

    • David H 2.2
      22 August 2014 at 8:13 pm

      But if TricKey does resign/piss off back to Hawaii. Then who’s left??

      Collins As , if not more tainted, than TricKey.
      Joyce, Bennet, and the rest are all as appealing as having fillings done without an anaesthetic.

  3. vto 3
    22 August 2014 at 9:12 am

    Surely Key’s colleagues will be getting very very jumpy now …..

    what are their options? every rat for itself?

    • Enough is Enough 3.1
      22 August 2014 at 9:15 am

      They will be panicking like never before.

      The pictures of Key plastered everywhere will now start to slowly disappear. He is toxic to their re-election hopes.

      The guys in marginal aeats will not want to be associated with Key at all so they will be out promoting their own names and leaving Key and the party they belong to out of it.

      • adam 3.1.1
        22 August 2014 at 10:23 am

        Wonder how much money they spent on #TeamFJK?

        Broken product, broken image, and a broken man.

    • AmaKiwi 3.2
      22 August 2014 at 1:56 pm

      Unfortunately, one option is to stop Greenwald at the border. Problem for them is, his organization can release the documents via his website, The Intercept, https://firstlook.org/theintercept/

      Check it out. Their articles are far more interesting than the MSM.

  4. Tracey 4
    22 August 2014 at 9:35 am

    or maybe english is just going to front a few more things… economy economy economy…. and avoid the questions key is getting

    • Kiwiri 4.1
      22 August 2014 at 10:22 am

      The Clutha-Southland electorate MP in absentia will next replace the soon-to-be PM in absentia?

      The National Party: Working in absentia for you.

      • Colonial Viper 4.1.1
        22 August 2014 at 12:11 pm

        Well strictly speaking they are not “in absentia” they are in corporate board rooms all around the country and all around the world.

  5. One Anonymous Bloke 5
    22 August 2014 at 10:01 am

    It would be to the great credit of the National Party if they immediately took steps to cauterize this gaping wound. However, to oust the Prime Minister this close to an election is to admit that his actions are serious.

    If they’re going to roll him they have to investigate and cut out all the rot. That means MPs and candidates tainted by Lusk too.

    Have they the stomach for it?

    • Enough is Enough 5.1
      22 August 2014 at 10:08 am

      They have to rid themselves of Key. Today’s poll shows he is toxic to the electorate. Righties will begin fleeing to ACT, NZ First, Conservatives and United Future if they do not remove Key in the next couple of days.

      • Kiwiri 5.1.1
        22 August 2014 at 10:27 am

        Ahhhh … I get it now ….. ‘Dirty Politics’ is a doubly twisted left-wing conspiracy actually disguised by right-wing truth-tellers to shore up support for the minor right cuckoo parties!?!

      • lurgee 5.1.2
        22 August 2014 at 9:17 pm

        There is no prospect of National ditching Key, or him resigning. You have to be dreaming lurid dreams to entertain such an idea.

        If he thought he was in danger, he would sacrifice Collins. Tell her to resign and twiddle her thumbs on the back bench for 12 months, then emerge ‘rehabilitated.’

        Not even Labour were stupid enough to dump their leader within spitting distance of the election.

        The questions on Bill English are probably serving another purpose – to seeif he should be brought to the fore, or to see if there is a genuine revulsion around Key, as opposed to National, or to see if the wet faction in National is gaining ground.

    • yeshe 5.2
      22 August 2014 at 10:22 am

      and just look at the latest whaledump to see how many are seriously implicated ! Hard to know where the cauterisation would need to stop … it’s simply enormous.

  6. karol 6
    22 August 2014 at 10:09 am

    Thanks, Tracey for this info.

    It is SO annoying the way Turei gets ignored. It’s the old traditional attitude that the default position for leadership and positions of authority are coded masculine.

    • Lanthanide 6.1
      22 August 2014 at 10:30 am

      There’s possibly an aspect of seniority too – Turei is the more junior of the two leaders.

      By contrast, Tariana Turia seems to get more coverage than Pita does.

      • Tracey 6.1.1
        22 August 2014 at 2:36 pm

        they are co leaders. It means what it says

        • Colonial Viper 6.1.1.1
          22 August 2014 at 3:29 pm

          If the Green Party wanted more media prominence for Turei they could arrange it very easily. It seems that is not what they want for the moment.

          • karol 6.1.1.1.1
            22 August 2014 at 3:36 pm

            So Turei didn’t represent the Greens in the minor leaders’ debate, and hasn’t been fronting on various issues lately, some of which have gotten her a play on the 6pm news?… I must have been dreaming then?

      • Matthew Whitehead 6.1.2
        22 August 2014 at 5:27 pm

        Turei has been with the Party longer and is in no way the “junior partner” in the leadership team. Treating Norman as more serious given the long list of Metiria’s qualifications can’t really be explained any other way than through discrimination in my book.

        • Lanthanide 6.1.2.1
          22 August 2014 at 8:49 pm

          I assume you meant “senior”, not “serious”?

          In terms of being leader, Russell has been at it longer. That gives him seniority through tenure. That’s all the media care about.

        • lurgee 6.1.2.2
          22 August 2014 at 9:24 pm

          Perhaps. Or they might want one leader to be seen as the tough attacker and the other as the thoughtful negotiator.

          And the media, of course, will only allocate a minor party like the Greens a limited amount of time. So if they have two leaders, it means less time individually. And if Norman is fronting on the ‘glamour’ issues, he’ll get more than an equal share.

  7. Up North 7
    22 August 2014 at 10:17 am

    So the right wing bloggers have launched an attack on English….. Civil War about to erupt?????

    • yeshe 7.1
      22 August 2014 at 10:24 am

      where ? links ?

    • One Anonymous Bloke 7.2
      22 August 2014 at 10:32 am

      Not just an attack. Threats to tell stories about his past behaviour. He’s a pious hypocrite apparently.

    • Weepus beard 7.3
      22 August 2014 at 11:51 am

      I don’t buy it. More smoke and mirrors from the Nats’ strategy machine to try to paint Slater as “his own force of nature”, and not politically aligned, imo. I think there’s been another nod and a wink here and to me it’s evidence Slater and the 9th floor are still in bed together.

  8. left for dead 8
    22 August 2014 at 10:17 am

    Tracey,that ex fed farms president standing for a.c.t in Clutha/Southland,could he slip through the middle.

  9. Sable 9
    22 August 2014 at 10:25 am

    Its all rather pathetic but who knows if it will come to anything. Just look at how old Shonkers bounced back from the iffy spy law business. Sill has his MSM stooges to paint over the cracks…

  10. John Monro 10
    22 August 2014 at 11:02 am

    I cannot see how National can possibly ditch John Key now. Somehow they’re going to have to patch this up with as many bandages, splints and political orthotics as they can find. This tainted, discredited and wounded man is going to have to stagger to the general election with a party in disarray, pretending to hold up his now non-existent train and hiding his broken crown. To have the leader resign now would completely shatter any hope of National’s return and would be a nightmare for the party. What’s happened , and it’s been a long time coming, is that a too diffident or deferential media, naïve really, have had the wool truly pulled from their eyes, and have got to understand the true duplicitous nature of John Key. It’s always been there for anyone with an ounce of common sense and an understanding of human nature to see. Nicky Hager is the little boy in the crowd, and like the emperor, John Key is no longer strutting, but desperately trying to hid his nakedness. This is the best thing that’s happened in politics in NZ for years.

    • Matthew Whitehead 10.1
      22 August 2014 at 5:30 pm

      This will be National doing planning for what happens if they lose the upcoming election. I think everyone in the party knows that even with the Dirty Politics revelations, John Key is still their best chance to remain in government.

      John Key has already stated he’s out when they’re out of government, so they’re seeing if Bill English is going to be a liability as leader or not. (Yes he is, but not as much as the alternatives- good luck selling Joyce or Collins to the country)

  11. Plan B 11
    22 August 2014 at 11:14 am

    Key believes that he is more important than the office he holds. That his popularity means that what he does to that office of Prime Minister does not matter.
    National need to get on top of this now. Bring Back Bill!

    • Olwyn 11.1
      22 August 2014 at 11:22 am

      Bill will have his work cut out if the new intake of National contenders is largely the result of the back ops brigades’ manipulations.

    • Rodel 11.2
      22 August 2014 at 12:07 pm

      Yes. Bring back Bill. He did so well in the elections last time he was the leader (ho ho) of National.

      • AmaKiwi 11.2.1
        22 August 2014 at 2:01 pm

        Let’s campaign for Bill English the same way the Nats campaigned for the least experienced member of parliament, David Shearer.

        Join the ABK club now!

      • disturbed 11.2.2
        22 August 2014 at 6:18 pm

        Yeah Bill, especially wilh his speech impediment (stutter) it may begin again when he tries to copy Key’s lying ways.

  12. vto 12
    22 August 2014 at 11:24 am

    Yeah, bring back Bill, that’ll do it.

    Maybe then we can get a genuine inquiry into how and why Bill let South Canterbury Finance into the Crown Deposit Scheme ….. the Nats would implode again, the dirty scumbag shits.

    • thatguynz 12.2
      22 August 2014 at 11:39 am

      +1 vto. And not only that, why the PM, English and Power conducted trial by media in Allan Hubbard’s case long before he ever had his day in court.. There’s a heck of a lot to be revealed in that particular case and based on what I’ve heard it is unsavory enough to make “Dirty Politics” look like a child’s fairy tale by comparison.

    • Matthew Whitehead 12.3
      22 August 2014 at 5:32 pm

      Who else would they make leader? Can you think of any of the current lot the country will accept? Bill won’t be popular, but he’s the best of their incredibly shallow talent pool.

  13. Dont worry. Be happy 13
    22 August 2014 at 11:45 am

    Will Key go the same way as Norman Kirk?

  14. infused 14
    22 August 2014 at 2:25 pm

    English would never be PM.

    • McFlock 14.1
      22 August 2014 at 2:27 pm

      we’re talking about who will lead the national party. After sept 20, the two might not intersect.

    • disturbed 14.2
      22 August 2014 at 6:21 pm

      Bill as our President?

      Probably not, he is to shallow, Joyce/Goebbels is dictatorial bully so they are stuffed, unless they give moderate Nick Smith the job.

      He knows what it is like to be on the receiving end of Key/Joyce black ops, and was a rebel in his younger days a better choice and maybe he will lead national back from the brink, as all the others are crap.

      • RedLogix 14.2.1
        22 August 2014 at 7:34 pm

        I’d agree disturbed.

        While Nick Smith’s political career has had it’s ups and downs – he’s the only one of the lot who I would trust as an authentic conservative leader.

        • joe90 14.2.1.1
          22 August 2014 at 7:55 pm

          I’ve not read the book but reading the whaledumps has me wondering if we may be witnessing a purging of the Queen street wide boys by the National party my mother supported.

        • outofbed 14.2.1.2
          22 August 2014 at 9:49 pm

          Never ever ever trust Nick Smith ever

          • RedLogix 14.2.1.2.1
            22 August 2014 at 9:55 pm

            I realise he’s not everyone’s pick and why.

            But I’d sooner Smith and all his shortcomings than the likes of Key with all his smooth plausibility.

      • Inky 14.2.2
        22 August 2014 at 8:53 pm

        English says he doesn’t like Slater and doesn’t like his methods. Have him in the big job instead of LOL (the Lie On Legs)? Yep, that’ll work for me. I really don’t think I can face another four nauseating years of Key doing his Cheshire Cat impression as he pulls the wool over so many suckers’ eyes.

  15. feijoa 15
    22 August 2014 at 9:02 pm

    NIck Smith???????????
    You are joking right??

  16. jackp 16
    22 August 2014 at 9:28 pm

    “Nats polling company”…. that is Farrar and he can’t be trusted. He’s told too many porkies these last six years.. The whole National brand is around Key and it’s too close to the elections.

  17. Mike the Savage One 17
    23 August 2014 at 2:44 pm

    Yep, it is my personal assessment and view, that it will be Bill English again, to take over as a transitional kind of leader, should Key still be exposed beyond any doubt about wrongdoings, and be forced to resign.

    Also in the case the Nats lose the election, and there is a good chance for that to happen now, no matter what the unreliable polls are supposed to tell us, it will most likely be English, who is the only one left in their front bench line, who has the capacity, experience and sufficient support and trust within the party, to lead them out of the misery they will inevitably end up in.

    Collins has totally dicredited herself now, for the future also, as even Pat Gower stated so convincingly on The Nation this morning, she has NO future as leader, probably not even as a minister anymore.

    And that arrogant, at times bizarrely idiotic, irritating, boisterous Steven Joyce did weeks ago show on the Nation, when he was bickering and sniping backwards and forwards, when being in “discussion” with Grant Robertson, also totally discredit himself. He is not fit to lead, for sure, and he is already overloaded with responsibilities as a minister, he does not seem to cope well anymore, if he ever did.

    Surely one cannot imagine Paula Bennett with her limited “skills” and “mental capacity” to become leader, and others are either too young and unexperienced, or otherwise toxic for various reasons.

    Prepare for “Blinglish” to take over in the coming weeks, or otherwise coming year or two, he is of course not one we will like, but he is at least a “steady hand” and somewhat predictable. The latter will be what will motivate most Nats to support him, inside the party and caucus, and outside.

    He will see the party through for a few years, until a new candidate has been found, possibly another one who has a background like Key (finance, banking, business).