Helen Clark in the news

20 comments on “Helen Clark in the news ”

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1. Lionel 1

   2 August 2015 at 11:53 am

   Dead right on your last sentence
2. Lanthanide 2

   2 August 2015 at 12:13 pm

   “starting to backfire”

   Starting to backfire? Jesus christ.

   Re: the second story, if she does win the UN secretary-general position, then I think there’s a good possibility she could go on to become New Zealand’s first president, should we eventually become a republic.
   • AmaKiwi 2.1

     2 August 2015 at 2:13 pm

     Why do we need a president?

     Just one more politician for the banksters to own.

     Have you thought about the PEOPLE making decisions instead of the politicians?
     • Lanthanide 2.1.1

       2 August 2015 at 2:21 pm

       If NZ were to become a republic, the president would have the same role as the Governor General currently does.

       The Governor General is not a political role.
       • Tracey 2.1.1.1

         2 August 2015 at 2:30 pm

         But is a political appointment. President would, presumably (?), be elected?
         • Olwyn 2.1.1.1.1

           2 August 2015 at 2:50 pm

           It would depend on whether, on becoming a republic, we retained the parliamentary system or changed to a presidential system like that of the US.
           • Lanthanide 2.1.1.1.1.1

             2 August 2015 at 4:29 pm

             The President in the US has political power. If we were to change to a republic, I can’t see any reason why Parliament would choose to give up power to some other entity, be they elected or appointed.

             The most likely route is that instead of the Queen/King + Governor General, we’d just have a President who was appointed, much as the GG is currently appointed.
             • Olwyn …

               2 August 2015 at 5:11 pm

               If we were to become a republic I would prefer to stick with the parliamentary system with a president filling the GG role. However, some people seem to assume that we would have an elected president with US style powers. It is something that would need to be debated should the republic idea gain steam.
             • Tracey …

               2 August 2015 at 5:22 pm

               We would not have a president like the one in the US (my prediction), we would, as Olwyn suggests make our President perform the current duties of the GG but not as a commitment to the Queen of England.
               • Lanthanide …

                 2 August 2015 at 5:35 pm

                 And also a reply to Olwyn:
                 Both of your replies agree with me.

                 I’m not sure if you somehow misread my comment or are just replying to agree, but neither of you clearly stated that you agree with my comment, so it reads like you disagree with it?
                 • Tracey …

                   2 August 2015 at 7:28 pm

                   I would hope our president would be elected, not appointed, as I stated above, which is a disagreement with your position that it would be a straight swap in all respects.

                   I think it is a little naive to suggest the GG is a non political post when it is politically appointed.
                 • Olwyn …

                   2 August 2015 at 10:52 pm

                   I do not know whether sticking with the parliamentary system is the most likely route, but I do think that it is the preferable route. So I guess I was extending on your comment rather than directly agreeing with you. But do I agree that it makes sense to continue with the system that we already have, with a modification, rather than install a whole new system.
       • AmaKiwi 2.1.1.2

         2 August 2015 at 2:55 pm

         “The Governor General is not a political role.”

         Tell that to supporters of the late Gough Whitlam.
3. Tracey 3

   2 August 2015 at 2:19 pm

   Sadly if she were to become UN Head it would give more fuel to the misguided notions that

   1. women are now equal
   2. if a woman heads UN it must be useless
   • tinfoilhat 3.1

     2 August 2015 at 3:37 pm

     😆
4. Exile 4

   2 August 2015 at 3:18 pm

   I think we need to understand that Helen Clark as a candidate for the top job is a longshot.
   She is a candidate that may be considered should the frontrunners not be suitable or acceptable for the 5 major powers on the UN board. Its only if there is serious difficulties to agree that they may look to someone from this part of the world.

   The rumour and the odds are that the next secretary general is female and from Eastern Europe or the Americas. If such a woman cant be found then, we may see candidates like Helen Clark in with a chance. The frontrunner, determined by those who put the odds on such things, is a Bulgarian lady who heads Unesco. Other potential candidates that is spoken about are the Chilean president and a couple of to me unknown ladies.

   Id love for Helen Clark to be secretary general, I think shed do a really good job as it, unfortunately I don’t think shell be elected. Not because she isn’t good enough but because the world vote in strange blocks and since the last general secretary was from Pacific Asia its unlikely the next will come from the same region.

   By the way, how is Helen Clark’s French?
   The francophone block (of about 30 countries) are pretty tough with their demand that the secretary general must speak French.
   • Lanthanide 4.1

     2 August 2015 at 4:39 pm

     “since the last general secretary was from Pacific Asia its unlikely the next will come from the same region.”

     NZ is officially considered to be part of the ‘European and others’ region. Which culturally makes perfect sense, of course.

     Unofficially we are obviously Asia-Pacific.
   • In Vino 4.2

     2 August 2015 at 9:01 pm

     Very few people in New Zealand are aware of how widely French is spoken. Because many of the older generation resented being told to learn it at school (and have inherited the British anti-French attitude) they unwisely tend to belittle both the French and their language. Many New Zealanders travel overseas only to reinforce their insular prejudices…
5. Robert Atack 5

   2 August 2015 at 3:40 pm

   They are both con ‘men’
   And I’m not talking about sexual preferences.
   Clark gave us Kiwi Saver, the biggest lie foisted on the pig ignorant masses.
   “We gotta have hope” Fuck hope – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W9Cs6KPTus
   And what is she saying here ?
   “I think that citizens who care about climate change should use all available means, including the law.” – HC
   So we do ALL we can …. plus the legal things?
6. esoteric pineapples 6

   3 August 2015 at 11:05 am

   Helen Clark’s chances must be higher given that there is a general call going out for the next leader of the UN to be a woman – just one of many opinion pieces on the subject below

   https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-woman-should-lead-the-un/2015/04/26/8519c652-e9fa-11e4-9a6a-c1ab95a0600b_story.html

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