It’s not often that you’ll see a Herald editorial quoted at length here, but when they’re right, they’re right:
Key [is] dead-set on forging a governing coalition with the Christian-Lite Conservative Party and its troublingly dim leader, Colin Craig.
Craig is a man who doesn’t believe in evolution, doesn’t accept anthro-pogenic climate change, and blames New Zealand’s woes on its “promiscuous young women”.
This is a man who wants a seat in Parliament and the accompanying $147,800 salary but refuses to do an MP’s job and make informed, principled decisions. Instead, he would refer every major decision back to voters for them to decide in a referendum.
Smacking? It’s up to the public to decide. Asset sales? Up to the public. Tax or spend? Too hard – leave it to the voters.
It is this man, this limp, anaemic excuse for a leader, whom John Key is grooming as his new coalition partner. Key is desperate to find anyone to take the place of the foundering Act, United Future and Maori parties – but really?
Colin Craig has many things going for him. He is a nice fellow. He has a boyish enthusiasm. A loving family. A lot of money. What he lacks is street smarts. He would be eaten alive in Parliament. Ruthless MPs on either side of the House would chew him up and spit him out, leaving the bloggers and tweeters to bicker over the soggy, half-masticated scraps.
If Colin Craig is the answer to John Key’s problem, then National is in trouble.
Unfortunately, after here the Herald gets it wrong. It concludes that, since Upper Harbour was too marginal to be given to Craig that National won’t try to gift him any seat. I seriously doubt that is the case. The good news, though, is that Auckland’s paper has called Craig unfit for Parliament and, to be consistent, can be expected to fight any stitch up to get him in via East Coast Bays tooth and nail.
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