Post Key leadership struggle goes mainstream

Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, July 2nd, 2013 - 67 comments
Categories: bill english, Judith Collins, national, Steven Joyce - Tags: , , ,

The simmering leadership struggle in the National party doesn’t get a lot of attention in the mainstream media, but here’s an exception:

Deputy PM more popular than heirs apparent

Steven Joyce and Judith Collins may be involved in an unofficial leadership contest within National to take over when John Key finally leaves politics, but neither is seen as the best replacement were it to happen tomorrow, according to a New Zealand Herald DigiPoll survey.

Finance Minister Bill English is the preferred choice of general voters.

Mr English was favoured by 29.7 per cent, Mr Joyce by 25.4 per cent and Ms Collins by 13 per cent. Almost 20 per cent thought none of them.

Judith Collins will not be pleased.

67 comments on “Post Key leadership struggle goes mainstream ”

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  1. Te Reo Putake 1
    2 July 2013 at 10:29 am

    Can’t wait for Paddy Gower to interview himself over the matter.

  2. One Anonymous Knucklehead 2
    2 July 2013 at 10:36 am

    Patrick Gower: “So Prime Minister, will you guarantee that you won’t be off to Hawaii in 2014 regardless of the election result?”

    Then I woke up.

  3. fender 3
    2 July 2013 at 10:49 am

    Not surprising that the nasty Collins would have trouble appealing to anyone other than her own kind, i.e. the whaleslime fraternity.

  4. Winston Smith 4
    2 July 2013 at 11:09 am

    Noooooo not English! Did we learn nothing from Labour!! Its Collins FTW!!!

    • One Anonymous Knucklehead 4.1
      2 July 2013 at 11:11 am

      So you reckon Key’s going to bail regardless?

      • Winston Smith 4.1.1
        2 July 2013 at 11:21 am

        Sure, hes won three elections (well hes about to) and he’ll handover power seamlessly…hes probably got a plan

        Just not English or Joyce!

        • felix 4.1.1.1
          2 July 2013 at 11:34 am

          You’re shit out of luck, sorry. Outside of Simon Lusk’s blog, no-one really considers her a serious contender.

        • One Anonymous Knucklehead 4.1.1.2
          2 July 2013 at 12:46 pm

          That’s good, Winston. Slippery’s narrative for the next election can be “re-elect me and I’ll resign”. All good. Let it be known among the people.

          • felix 4.1.1.2.1
            2 July 2013 at 1:31 pm

            Pretty much.

            A vote for Key is a vote for Joyce/English.

            People need to know this before they vote, not after.

            • One Anonymous Knucklehead 4.1.1.2.1.1
              2 July 2013 at 1:35 pm

              “…let’s make the sonofabitch deny it.” Lyndon Johnson (alleged) 😀

  5. BM 5
    2 July 2013 at 1:00 pm

    Bill English is fucking useless, I’d rather not vote than vote for that insipid turd.

    That leaves Judith Collins or Steven Joyce, tough decision but I’d go Judith.

    • fender 5.1
      2 July 2013 at 1:10 pm

      But your idol Key is fond of English (not the language).

      You really should just let Key tell you what to think.

    • felix 5.2
      2 July 2013 at 1:17 pm

      “tough decision but I’d go Judith”

      You’re not going to have that option. It’s going to be English or Joyce.

      • One Anonymous Knucklehead 5.2.1
        2 July 2013 at 1:19 pm

        😀 I think English is yet to fulfil his leadership potential and should be given another chance.

      • BM 5.2.2
        2 July 2013 at 1:21 pm

        Can’t see it being that yokel English again so looks like it will be Joyce.

        From what I’ve heard the Man is pretty brutal and doesn’t fuck around, so I’d be happy with Joyce, prefer Collins though.

        • fender 5.2.2.1
          2 July 2013 at 1:28 pm

          “From what I’ve heard the Man is pretty brutal and doesn’t fuck around”

          That must be both unfortunate and reassuring for his wife.

        • One Anonymous Knucklehead 5.2.2.2
          2 July 2013 at 1:31 pm

          Just ask Mediaworks shareholders how brutal he is. Market failure? The National Party has a place for you.

  6. mikesh 6
    2 July 2013 at 1:14 pm

    Who would English appoint as finance minister if he took over as leader? Would he, like Muldoon, retain the portfolio himself? I’d hate to see Joyce as finance minister.

  7. The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 7
    2 July 2013 at 1:35 pm

    The simmering leadership struggle in the National party…

    Citation required.

    • One Anonymous Knucklehead 7.1
      2 July 2013 at 1:37 pm

      Citation.

      • Winston Smith 7.1.1
        2 July 2013 at 2:38 pm

        Need a little bit more than one article

        • One Anonymous Knucklehead 7.1.1.1
          2 July 2013 at 2:41 pm

          That’s sweet deary, but I think you’ll find that once these stories get into the media they tend to develop a momentum all their own.

          • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 7.1.1.1.1
            2 July 2013 at 2:52 pm

            Remembering that this so-called struggle is about what happens when Key leaves. At which point, you know, having a new leader will be kind of a necessity.

            Labour wishes it had this sort of leadership “struggle”.

            • One Anonymous Knucklehead 7.1.1.1.1.1
              2 July 2013 at 3:06 pm

              Well Gormless, I think that depends. Let’s say this story gets traction in the electorate, and the view that Key has zero loyalty to New Zealand becomes as pervasive as it is true: an electoral liability.

              The pressure to ditch the mendacious wretch before the election increases, etc, etc.

              I don’t think a leadership challenge will help them if it comes from the any of the variously incompetent, repellent and tarnished trio, but that won’t stop the knives coming out.

              • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell …
                2 July 2013 at 3:55 pm

                Well, if that’s the opposition’s plan, they are officially out of ideas.

                • One Anonymous Knucklehead …
                  2 July 2013 at 4:53 pm

                  Um, no, that would be (more-or-less) idle speculation by an anonymous commenter on a blog.

            • lprent 7.1.1.1.1.2
              2 July 2013 at 9:05 pm

              In the history of the National party of about 70 odd years, there has been exactly one leader that left of their own volition – Holyoake. John Key is no Holyoake. My bet is that he will get rolled….

          • Winston Smith 7.1.1.1.2
            2 July 2013 at 2:53 pm

            Yeah how is Shearer going with his leadership struggles, wouldn’t want anything to dog him like what happened with Goff… 🙂

  8. RobertM 8
    2 July 2013 at 2:25 pm

    My own view is that if your a women under 70, to be taken seriously you have to have acceptably trim backside dimensions. Its what I look at first, and its the same if its a fashion parade, Queen St or a political contender. Collins, Bradford and Bennet always go for the heavily made up front view. However the first close TV study of Collins as a police minister, in about 2009 tracked the rear mountain. I don’t think she could be taken seriously except in East Germany.
    Mrs T would never have let her backside get out of shape.

    • Winston Smith 8.1
      2 July 2013 at 2:38 pm

      Judith Collins is wonderful.

      • Follow-the-money 8.1.1
        3 July 2013 at 7:18 am

        I often wish I’d had a big sister like Judith Collins at primary school. She’d have sorted the bullies out for me.

    • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 8.2
      2 July 2013 at 3:03 pm

      Then, RobertM, your view is vile.

    • TighyRighty 8.3
      2 July 2013 at 3:45 pm

      So a women is only as good in politics as her appearance? Jesus wept, you come over on the same plane as Russell Norman?

      • \Robert M 8.3.1
        2 July 2013 at 5:11 pm

        I’ve only visited Australia four times, in the 1980’s. I do have some significant Australian connections. |My families income and business is essentially in Australian minerals and banking. The only family marriage I was sufficient sober enough to get to the ceremony was at Lake Maquaire where one of my first cousins married the American born son of the chief engineer of BHP and member of the Broken Hill Proprietrary board. Other old aunts had three houses on the Sydney waterfront, sort of thing. My grandfather and great grandfather could be regarded as much as Australians as kiwi’s or English. My father regarded himself as English, he didn’t regard himself as a New Zealander.
        As a defence commentor in the 1980s I rejected the idea that the NZ Navy’s frigate force was still relevant to us or the West. I was also attempting to direct Australia away from Claytons defence options like the Collins and Anzacs.

      • RobertM 8.3.2
        2 July 2013 at 6:24 pm

        My philosphy of life. An a more valid perspective than Judith Collins. Have a look at
        You Tube – Rhianna S & M Frederick M
        Rhianna Shut up and Drive -Live Manchester 2007 Robert M
        Not an exact link or icon, but close
        Although largely disherinted, I am a product of Aussie money and class. I often visited in the time of Fraser and Hawke.

        Rhianna is my answer to the National party of Collins, Brash and Banks. Whip it.

    • karol 8.4
      2 July 2013 at 6:28 pm

      Class-y.

  9. TighyRighty 9
    2 July 2013 at 3:42 pm

    So, labour leader David shearer comes in fourth of all the potential prime ministers from the major parties. Mr English twice as popular and Joyce’s is almost twice as popular. Hilarious.

    • Pascal's bookie 9.1
      2 July 2013 at 4:49 pm

      nope.

    • Te Reo Putake 9.2
      2 July 2013 at 4:55 pm

      “So, labour leader David shearer comes in fourth of all the potential prime ministers from the major parties. Mr English twice as popular and Joyce’s is almost twice as popular. Hilarious.”

      Where are you getting that from, tr? The link in the post is to a National specific poll. The recent preferred PM polls seem to have Key, Shearer, Peters in that order.

      • gobsmacked 9.2.1
        2 July 2013 at 6:52 pm

        But it is the Herald Digipoll, which means the same group of respondents who gave their answers on Shearer.

        Media organisations try and get multiple stories over several days from one poll: this one included questions on GCSB and Sky City (covered last week).

        It would be good if they were more upfront about this, but it also means we can’t pick and choose the data we like. The crap poll for Shearer/Labour was in fact, this same one.

  10. tracey 10
    2 July 2013 at 4:45 pm

    Kevin rudds hero is john howard. There is no true labour leader downunder

    • Te Reo Putake 10.1
      2 July 2013 at 4:59 pm

      Says you. Rudd usually cites Whitlam as his political hero.

      • Mary 10.1.1
        2 July 2013 at 10:59 pm

        Yeah, some hero. East Timor.

      • RobertM 10.1.2
        3 July 2013 at 3:07 pm

        Generally the ALP is led by the most right wing member who is remotely stable or competent. Think Hawke, Keating and Beazley, Rudd even to a lesser degree Lantham or even Whitlam.
        So an ALP leader is likley to be right-centre, Oxford educated and frequently tired and emotional.
        Like most Liberal leaders.
        Rudd is labour because he was born Labour. Last of the working class one percenters high IQs to get thru the system, like Lantham and Elbow. The general belief that Rudd was unable to work with the Labour team and advance the Labour programme reflected more that Rudd is centre and didn’t agree with the Labour mainstream and simply sat on, delayed and fillibusted the programme.
        From her general social background one might have also expected Judith Collins to be Labour or Social Credit. Bit like a tougher Goff. But I dislike Collins militant right wing social control policies. She’s too staunch in defending a certain sort of ordinary man. She regards John McCain as a hero. God help us. McCain is even stupider than Blair. Advocating all out intervention in Syria. For the Honour of the corps, etc , McCain was advocating US marines in Iraq for a 100 years

  11. Follow-the-money 11
    3 July 2013 at 7:11 am

    I can’t believe all this feedback and no-one’s mentioned Obama as the next National leader!!

    Of course, he’s busy in the US, so his power would be delegated to Hollywood moguls & Casino operators.

    Business-as-usual for NZ, really…