Key the politician

Written By: - Date published: 5:00 pm, December 21st, 2011 - 25 comments
Categories: john key, politicans - Tags:

Despite his very carefully presented image, Key has long been a ‘politician’.  His snarky performances in the House long ago showed his partisanism, with his writing off any idea that came from the ‘wrong’ side of the floor.

In 2002 he could claim naivety of the sausage factory, but he has always been willing to scheme and deal-make – as his involvement as one of The Hollowmen showed.  His facade as the reasonable anti-politician has only ever been skin deep.

But the scheming ‘smiling assassin’ is ever more starting to show.  First his man-date to get a mandate with Banksie showed what deals he was willing to make even in front of the cameras (if intended off the mike).  And now with a new ‘anti-politician’ leading the opposition, the contrast is clear.

Rather than praising his involvement in helping the starving in aid camps, he makes sneering comments about Labour needing someone with experience of war-torn Somalia to lead them.

Rather than justifying his government’s actions in reply to Shearer’s opening parliamentary address, he plays the man not the ball by casting smears – saying that he could hear “the quiet sound of David Cunliffe plotting,” and (intended as an insult) that the speech was one Phil Goff would be proud of (they are in the same party John, so Phil’s probably happy with any good speech by a Labour MP…).

And rather than welcoming Shearer’s call to move beyond politics into co-operation – particularly on poverty by making the Ministerial Committee into a Parliamentary one – he dismisses it.

Indeed where Shearer says that he’ll welcome any good idea, no matter where it comes from, Key claims that (despite majority opposition) asset sales and charter schools are good ideas, so it’s some sort of hypocrisy “that David Shearer will not come out and support them”.  The country doesn’t agree with you John.

His comments about Epsom game-playing won’t help either: list MP Goldsmith was “the man who did such a wonderful job of coming second. Sometimes losing is winning.”

When all you care about is power John, sometimes it is…

25 comments on “Key the politician ”

  1. Lanthanide 1

    Another fine display of Key’s lack of class.

    I did see a lot of comments on stuff and other mainstream sites saying that Key behaved like a spoilt little child in the debates. This seemed to surprise a lot of people. They mustn’t have been paying attention for the previous 3 years, but hopefully the election campaign will have woken them up and they’ll see his comments today in the same light.

    • Blue 1.1

      Most people don’t watch Parliament, and depend entirely on media reports of the goings on there.

      The journalists haven’t seen fit to enlighten the public about the snide, petty, arrogant side of John Key that comes out during Question Time and Parliamentary debates.

      It’s fair to say that a few people would be surprised – they’ve never seen any other side to him than the smile-and-wave Mr Nice Guy act he puts on for photo-ops and soft-ball breakfast TV interviews.

  2. tc 2

    For a proven corporate shyster this is very sloppy and shows how over the job he is and can’t wait to sling his hook.

    He only just held it together and with a more focused and organised opposition, or better turnout, would’ve lost so you can’t mistake the message from sideshow….F you all, I’ll say and do as I please, welcome to the real mr banksta.

  3. Tombstone 3

    So Key the nasty fucker thinks that shuffling money and trading in currencies is far more admirable than staring down Somalian war lords and helping those who are quite literally starving to death in some of the harshest places in the world. I mean for crying out loud, why can’t New Zealanders see this man for the nasty, snide piece of shit he really is? Shearer needs to ignore Key and leave him to his petty little comments and simply get down to doing what needs to be done to get National of govt and get this country up and firing again. I like Shearer. He has a real story to tell unlike Key. Lets get in behind Shearer and make this next election one that Key will come to regret.

  4. CnrJoe 4

    Question thats bugged me – whose money does John Key have?

  5. felix 5

    Looking and sounding like yesterday’s man in the house today.

  6. queenstfarmer 6

    You could have titled this “Leave David alone!!”

  7. DJL 7

    I missed Shearers speach but caught some of keys. I could not bring myself to watch the whole lot because I already saw 3 years of it. Just more dog and pony and a whole pile of shit

    • Carol 7.1

      Well Winston Peters, in a typical mix of good and bad stuff, also called the government a load of stuff found on cow shed floors. And said Key’s government got re-elected based on an unprecedented 3 year hug of Key by the media.

      • Reality Bytes 7.1.1

        Haha holy shit that’s classic! thanks for reminding me to watch Winnies address. Like I predicted in my other post, Winston = National’s worst nightmare and will do the job of attacking while Labour can focus on positive objective direction.

        Winnie has hit the ground running from minute zero. Even if you disagree with his policies, the guy is something else. We are fortunate to have such a character to lighten things up. A ton of charisma, and raises REAL issues in a entertaining yet very in your face “WAKE THE HELL UP” fashion.

        Oh lawdy, only watched the first 7 minutes, but looks like parliament tv could be well worth tuning into this season.

      • Blue 7.1.2

        Ah, now that is an orator. He never shouts, because he doesn’t need to. He always has the audience’s complete attention.

        No one else can call the Government on their bullshit like Winnie can.

  8. David 8

    I think Key came across as arrogant and smug – two things I don’t want in my PM

    • newsense 8.1

      haha

      maybe this is the plan.

      Maybe Shearer is going to make Key look venal and bully-like compared to the nice bumbling uncle?

    • Blue 8.2

      @David, you may not want him but ‘most’ people do. Well, far more than wanted Goff. Democracy champ, thats the way it works. Also I can’t honestly believe that there is moaning about the response from Key to Shearers speech being ‘personal’, pot kettle black folks. The left have been firing personality shots across the Government for three years (as some kind of deluded tactic) and have advanced their cause nowhere, in fact their vote collapsed. That folks is what having ‘bo ide’ looks like – ‘shit don’t know what to do, lets call them names’. Now when the PM responds in kind, we hear the pants wetting hysteria typical of the petulant loser. Remarkable stuff.

      • CnrJoe 8.2.1

        and why is the P.M ‘responding in kind’ Blue? Was he taking notes? Was he inspired by what you say he saw?

      • Colonial Viper 8.2.2

        @David, you may not want him but ‘most’ people do. Well, far more than wanted Goff. Democracy champ, thats the way it works.

        Remember the fact that 3 weeks ago hardly anyone knew who David Shearer was, and still would not know, had it not been for a massive and co-ordinated positive media campaign.

        The left have been firing personality shots across the Government for three years (as some kind of deluded tactic) and have advanced their cause nowhere, in fact their vote collapsed.

        Collapsed? You mean like National going under 21% party vote in 2002?

        You do know that the left Labour + Greens vote = 38%. Seems well higher than the less than 21% vote National got back then.

    • greg 8.3

      “arrogant and smug” – yes very irritating and Helen Clark/Michael Cullen in a nutshell.

  9. Cee 9

    Shearer’s speech – I am smiling from ear to ear. At long last! A real down-to-earth people’s leader. David Shearer is not talking rhetoric … he knows that he knows what he knows. I hear it in his voice, I see it in his face, I sense it in his heart. The vision is real. Cmon New Zealanders let’s get on board – this is explosion time! With your hand and my hand, together we can make it happen!

  10. randal 10

    kweewee has been declared inane.

  11. Roy 11

    I note that even his fans don’t deny that Key’s comments were mean-spirited and petty. They are left foundering for reasons why he should be that way. Newsflash: this isn’t a response to previous attacks by Labour, this is just the way he is.

  12. randal 12

    exactly roy.
    mean spirited and petty.
    you left out juvenile, puerile and infantilised.
    just a schoolyard bully in a suit.

    • Roy 12.1

      Yep, he definitely stopped advancing in social skills sometime in primary school.

      • Colonial Viper 12.1.1

        And the fact that he advanced so quickly and so far in Merill Lynch, makes me suspect that the likes of Jamie Dimon, Jon Corzine, Lloyd Blankfein etc are all the same.

        Stunted emotional and social development. Quasi or fully sociopathic.

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