Happy Birthday Jim?

Written By: - Date published: 1:58 pm, May 31st, 2010 - 18 comments
Categories: national - Tags:

WTF? Jim Bolger’s mates have got together and put a half page ad (including a list of who they all are) in today’s DomPost to wish him a happy birthday and to thank him for his many years of public service. 

While not wishing to take anything away from the grand and generous gesture of friendship this most surely is I have to say it’s had the people in my office positively agog with interest and questions:

Are we witnessing the birth of New National?  A bring back Jim campaign?

Is there some sort of  code here about selling off KiwiBank?

Is Jim Bolger dying?

Are his friends saying it’s time Mr Bolger was Sir Jim?

Is he after a new job?

Or is Lucky Jim just lucky to have plenty of friends who want to spend so much money making him feel so loved up on his special day?

18 comments on “Happy Birthday Jim? ”

  1. ianmac 1

    He does seem to be almost desirable now when you line up if there was a choice. Jim or John? Mmmm?

  2. peter 2

    Good old Spud aka The Great Helmsman

  3. Tigger 3

    My workmate suggested it was a joke and scanned the list for fake names – Hugh Jass, Ben Dover, Mike Hunt…

  4. Bright Red 4

    I saw “you’re old jim, get out of the way, we’re selling kiwibank”

  5. Anita 5

    When I saw it I assumed the ad was placed by Bolger fans from another country, in which that kind of ad is more normal. It weirded me to recognise good Kiwi names in the list, it felt very alien. Noting the ages tho I wondered if this a throw back from the days of old when we named towns after Premiers and built the Massey Memorial.

  6. MikeG 6

    ‘Citizens for Bolger’ – for those of you old enough to remember ‘Citizens for Rowling’!

  7. Are his friends saying it’s time Mr Bolger was Sir Jim?

    I doubt it. Jim’s a republican, he was sounded out over one when he resigned, but declined (and got the Order of New Zealand instead).

  8. I dreamed a dream 8

    Helen Clark’s government seemed to like Jim Bolger, appointing him to various positions. And now this Key’s government seems to dislike him. Why is that so? I am curious (and please pardon my ignorance on this 🙂 )

    • ianmac 8.1

      His great strength was as Chairman of the Board. His steady chairmanship was ideal Ambassador and for managing Post and Rail. Though things went astray when NZ First refused to sign up for the Privatisation of Wellington Airport and it brought down the Govt.

      • Rich 8.1.1

        I think you mean:
        His great strength was as a chairman of the board. His steady chairmanship made him an ideal ambassador and for managing manager for post and rail. Though Things went astray when NZ First refused to sign up for the privatisation of Wellington Airport and it brought down the Govt. Jenny Shipley replaced him in a caucus coup.

  9. Rex Widerstrom 9

    They didn’t ask me. I’d have chipped in, just to be able to imagine the look on the faces of Winston and Lhaws when they opened their newspaper this morning and realised there won’t be a similar tribute for either of them any time soon 😀

    Good old Spud. I’ll never forget him refusing a regular weekly radio interview spot (when Moore, Anderton and Peters, as leaders of the other parties in Parliament at the time all did one) on the basis that “Aye shouldn’t have to do such things. Aye am Prime Minister“.

    Cue cringing and looking at the floor by assembled staff. Nonetheless I couldn’t resist the obvious rejoinder: “That’s kinda the point…”

    • BLiP 9.1

      What – turning the PM into a commercial radio DJ?

      • Rex Widerstrom 9.1.1

        Spud loose on air on his own?! That might have been fun 👿

        Nah, just fronting up to my inscrutable interrogations once a week, like everyone else in his position.

        Mike Moore was great though… all I’d need to say was “good morning” and I’d have enough time to go make a cofee, empty my bladder, and make a couple of circuits of the studio to loosen up before sitting down at the end of the allotted ten minutes and saying “thanks” 😀

  10. Santi 10

    I felt disgusted after reading such crap. Puke-inducing.

  11. Descendant Of Smith 11

    Was fine til the last line those individuals can say what they want.

    I hope I’m not included in the thousands of other Kiwi’s – particularly as I’m a born and bred King Country boy.

    I guess at least they didn’t say tens of thousands – that would have been exaggerating.

  12. Maggie 12

    Is Jim about to become NZ’s Malcolm Fraser?

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