The New Zealand Herald: “Coalition is shakier by the day”

Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, May 16th, 2010 - 24 comments
Categories: brand key, john key, leadership, Media, national, polls - Tags:

The headline for the Herald’s editorial today says a lot about where the media are at with National at the moment. The Government and its actions have been savaged by a range of msm outlets this week in New Zealand – and internationally, which in turn became another source of yet more negative domestic coverage.

This week both TV1 and TV3 have gone decidedly bitey in the tone of their coverage and RNZ have ripped National a few new wounds too – although it seems very few Government ministers are much interested in accounting to the public in live interviews at the moment. Not fronting to the media just makes journalists and editors more frustrated and encourages them to fill the information vacuum themselves, which in the current mood is very unlikely to favour Government. It also guarantees Government loses control of the news agenda which leads to more surprises and bushfires for Government, more withdrawal, and so the pretty spiral goes.

But when the Herald gets this snippy with her Precious – it’s news in itself. When it runs polls that show the majority of its readers see John Key as “Mr Smile and Wave”, things are looking really rough!

Today Angry Granny says:

Doubtless [Key] has come under pressure from some quarters of his party to stop what they see as excessive concessions to Maori after the promised Foreshore and Seabed review, the Whanau Ora programme and the backing of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.

But Key this week seemed to have completely lost the political instinct that enabled him to strike the three-party coalition deal after the election.

The damage the week’s events have done to National’s relationship with the Maori Party is almost certainly irreparable and is more than likely to be fatal to the agreement.

National does not need them to govern but relying on Act alone to command a majority in the House will come with a hefty political price tag.

It doesn’t pay to lose your Ganny’s favour, especially when you’re on the ropes. With that kind of coverage, and with who knows what around the corner for the Coalition heading in to winter, I don’t fancy National’s chances for any good news in the next few polls.

24 comments on “The New Zealand Herald: “Coalition is shakier by the day” ”

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  1. Lew 1
    16 May 2010 at 1:44 pm

    An inspired choice of image, Sprout.

    L

  2. Nemesis 2
    16 May 2010 at 1:52 pm

    I don’t think the coalition is shakier. It’s a lot stronger than Phil Who’s leadership. Goff didn’t get a single mention in any of the sunday papers today, says to me he’s so irrelevant. His performance on Q&A this morning was just terrible. He mucked up the GST answers. He’s actually promising nothing on GST. He said he wouldn’t deliver anything different to Tuhoe, and couldn’t answer where the $2 billion for the super fund would come from.

    The Maori Party aren’t going to go anywhere else, they aren’t going to join up with Labour under Mr 7 percent.

    • Marty G 2.1
      16 May 2010 at 2:05 pm

      This is a post about Key’s coalition. You obviously can’t think of anything positive to say about it, so you’re attacking Goff instead. If you want to talk about a topic that isn’t covered by the post do it in the open mike post, that’s what it’s for.

  3. greenfly 3
    16 May 2010 at 1:54 pm

    Kiore Bro!

    (anti-spam was ‘smile’ – do I get a prize for that?)

  4. Nick C 4
    16 May 2010 at 2:13 pm

    If the herald editor genuinely believes this then he/she should put their money where their mouth is and buy stock on ipredict for the Maori-National agreement to be terminated in 2010. Its currently selling at .09c, the smart money is predicting that the coilition will stay togeather.

  5. Lazy Susan 5
    16 May 2010 at 2:50 pm

    On top of the Maori Party coalition looking shaky the Super City debate is hotting up.

    Aucklanders are quickly wakeing up to the shambles that is the corporate takeover of Auckland’s assets, that Rodney has engineered, and don’t like it.

    The next six months would not be a good time for National to have to turn Act for support.

    Looks like the road ahead is going to get bumpy for Shon Key.

    Maybe he’ll just have to start singing:

    When you’re smiling
    When you’re smiling
    The whole world smiles with you

    refrain…

    • Nick C 5.1
      16 May 2010 at 3:49 pm

      I very much look foward to the moderators deleting this comment or telling off lazy sussan on the grounds that her comment is off topic

      I.e. See Marty G’s comment 16th May 2010 at 2:05pm

      IrishBill: claiming a comment is off-topic like this is clearly straying off-topic. Consider yourself warned.

      • the sprout 5.1.1
        16 May 2010 at 4:06 pm

        LS is not off-topic at all, the problems ACT have made with the Supershity are entirely pertinent to the problems facing the Coalition, and one of several reasons why the Maori Party’s withdrawal will bring National more trouble.

        And surely even you would agree the song is pertinent for anything about Key.

  6. Blue 6
    16 May 2010 at 4:21 pm

    So the Granny finally gets it. When National signed the deal with the Maori Party they couldn’t gush enough over how nice it was of Mr Key to include the Maori Party in Government when he didn’t have to. Morons.

    He did need the Maori Party. It wasn’t out of the goodness of his heart, he needed them to avoid being held to ransom by the right-wing loonies in Act and there was no other party who had the numbers and would be willing to sell out their principles to work with him.

    The Maori Party are an essential part of the stability of his Government, and if he pisses them off too much he’ll have to kowtow to more of Act’s demands, thus tarnishing his precious popularity and becoming a one-term PM.

    Captcha: Division.

  7. Alexandra 7
    16 May 2010 at 6:04 pm

    As much as I would dearly like to see the MP disassociate themselves from the dirty rats, (sorry to offend rodent lovers) I dont think they will do that. Too much is at stake with the promise of whanau ora.

    • Craig Glen Eden 7.1
      16 May 2010 at 9:40 pm

      and Limos and Salaries.

      • Alexandra 7.1.1
        17 May 2010 at 9:58 am

        I get tired of allegations by some pakeha that the MP are motivated by limos and salaries, because the same allegations are seldom, if ever directed at pakeha ministers. Lets not forget that Tariana Turia held a number of associate ministerial roles, when she left labour for the back benches.

  8. sukie Damson 8
    16 May 2010 at 7:59 pm

    What did the cannibal do after he had dumped his coalition partner?
    Wiped his ass.

  9. zonk 9
    16 May 2010 at 9:36 pm

    The word ‘gets’ is inflected second person and should not have an apostrophe. It is not a possesive. That is all.

    Otherwise a flawless post.

  10. Jim 10
    16 May 2010 at 10:33 pm

    I think the National / Maori party spat might be being engineered by the Nats. They want another election while they are still popular. They probably want to turn the Maori Party into electoral terrorists and use this to persuade voters to ditch MMP to make the Maori party go away.

    The Nats and Big Business (crooks) are going to ask for New Zealands support in getting rid of MMP. Then we get a National government at the helm when the NWO take the reigns whenever that may be. I’m sure Key and the Nats are just waiting for orders from Washington and the BIS (Bank for International Settlements)

  11. the pinkpostman 11
    17 May 2010 at 4:26 pm

    I can’t believe that the so called coalition has lasted this long. How on earth has Turia stayed with this anti worker (brown and white ) government this long. If this tastless racist joke is not enough for her to call it quits then surely that Key has in effect called a number of Maori people involved in this issue liars. Did he agree or are Kruger , Sharples and Turia not telling the truth? I know who I believe !