What are National up to?

• Dancer
• 16 years ago
• Categories: election 2008

A puzzled reader sent me this question – what is National up to?

1. Their environment policy is leaked, and John Key says that one of his staff must have left it lying around in a café (and now their Conservation policy too?)
2. Their transport spokesperson muses about $50 a week tolls and putting tolls back on the Auckland Harbour bridge, and is told off by his leader for being ‘over-exuberant’
3. Their deputy leader says that they will sell Kiwibank ‘eventually’, and then apologises for ‘not choosing his words carefully’
4. Their spokesperson for industrial relations says that they will reduce the employers’ contribution to Kiwisaver, and then her leader claims they won’t be making any changes
5. Their deputy leader even thinks that their leader doesn’t understand Working for Families!

It seems that no-one knows National are up to. Not even National. Even Fran O’Sullivan is expressing doubts:

“unfortunately New Zealand’s conservative leader John Key would rather indulge his crush on Obama, than directly mix it by contesting Helen Clark with a clear agenda of his own.”

It’s not long until the MPs will leave Parliament and hit the streets. Let’s see of the National caucus can keep itself together til then.And for those who will say it is all in Labour’s imagination that there’s a leak within National, this line from TV3’s story last night should give some pause for thought:

“3 News can also reveal we were informed of John Key’s meeting on Monday with British billionaire Lord Ashcroft because of a leak from within the National Party.

So Key’s claims of a simple mistake might not be so simple after all.”