Eddie has already covered the story of Hide giving the middle finger to the people of Franklin regarding the Supercity.
Franklin is Tory heartland. However the current local National MP for Hunua, the underwhelming Dr Paul Hutchinson, has consistently been taken to pieces over his government’s decision to destroy the district. Locals are furious with National’s arrogant approach to their community.
Buried in the Herald article we hear someone from the group Franklin.4.Democracy threaten that going against what local community wanted might have “unintended consequences” for the National Party.
Too right. Enter Winston Peters?
You see, Winston’s initial political home was the Hunua electorate he first won in 1978. The old tusker is itching to get back into parliament to extract revenge on those who tormented him during the last parliament.
What better way than winning a local electorate you have a historical link to, saddled with a lacklustre MP (unlike Tauranga), with a community that is furious with the current government, who will reluctantly go through a local body election year where this issue will dominate, who will wake up in the 2011 general election year with a Supercity-sized hangover and the possibility of ongoing local government service issues, whose conservative voters have long memories and could well return Winston to centre stage?
In a delicious piece of irony Rodney Hide might have opened the door for his nemesis to come full circle, return to national politics and knock the NACT government off its perch.
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