Who will the new leader of the National Party be?

Written By: - Date published: 9:49 am, February 27th, 2018 - 52 comments
Categories: Amy Adams, bill english, jacinda ardern, Judith Collins, national, paula bennett, Politics, same old national, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce - Tags:

We should know round about lunch time who the new leader of the National Party is going to be.

The decision will show if National is planning for the future or dwelling in the past. Either is possible.

If Simon Bridges wins, and he appears to have the inside running,then there will be a more significant change. The old John Key guard will be gone or demoted.  Depending on how much support Bridges actually has.

Paula Bennett may remain but Joyce will no doubt be demoted and the possibility of his departure from Parliament cannot be underestimated.

If Amy Adams wins then the talk is that Joyce will become deputy leader. The Key English crew will presumably remain safe. Expect the status quo to continue although Adams has none of the dynamism of John Key or the reliability of Bill English. She will struggle.

Should Mark Mitchell somehow come through the middle then his innate conservatism will provide a jarring alternative to Jacinda Ardern but one that I am confident will not work. New Zealand has changed a lot since the heyday Mitchell’s lot had in the 1950s.

Joyce may have a chance. One in 11.5 billion.

And the one candidate who has performed very well, fronted up to the media and has spoken convincingly looks like she will be the first to be excluded. It almost makes you feel sorry for Judith although no doubt she will stay on the front bench. Cameron Slater will not be pleased.

But this is a poisoned chalice. None of the candidates, except possibly for Judith have the skill or the ability to public standing to deal with Jacinda Ardern. And they are all bankrupt of ideas. The lack of a debate about policies and principles is startling.

National could be in for a rough time. The next opinion poll result will be interesting.

52 comments on “Who will the new leader of the National Party be? ”

  1. Ad 1

    We are going to waste them.

  2. Bill 2

    Of all the shambling muppets that constitute the National Party that many people keep voting for (that bit’s beyond me), I’ve reckoned Stephen Joyce to be the least shambolic and oddly (in front of the media at least) the most laid back of the bunch.

    Worth a buck on a 1.5 billion to 1 shot? Oh. That’s right. Can only bet on field and track like sports in these parts 🙂

  3. tc 3

    whoever the hollowmen ordain….like it was ever a ‘contest’.

    Smart money would be on Joyce if they feel they’ve a shot in 2020, otherwise they may go for the domestos effect a Collins or Bridges would bring to flush out the non-believers.

  4. millsy 4

    National missed a big opportunity here. They should have put the vote out to the membership.

  5. Ross 5

    It wont be Mitchell as he has withdrawn. I imagine it’ll be Bridges.

  6. patricia bremner 6

    The Leadership race has been revealing. They are desperate to appear united, and the Leader chosen today is bound to be white anted by the factions which have appeared.

    Some of their strongest support has started to fray as it becomes apparent they did not provide funds for things promised in their last campaign.

    The changing International scene and the threat of increasing interest rates, has caused MCMansion mortgage holders and farmers alike to look to Government to help protect them.

    They are now looking for a “Public” umbrella against changing fortunes.

    Some are saying “Let them sink or crash”, but of course their fortunes and ours are so interlinked this would cause pain for those most vunerable.

    The last Government, now the new Opposition, failed to avoid overloading the property and farming sector with debt. It will need a good pilot to navigate the reefs.

    Luckily it appears we have one in Jacinda Ardern. She appears to have an over arching understanding of most portfolios, and a clear vision of the journey ahead.

    Looking at the candidates for the opposition, their view of future New Zealand alarms me. Division of Urban and Rural goals, trucks oil and gas, military/ police state, or more of the funding lies.

    How is that supposed to improve our lot?? It won’t. It doesn’t. So, no thanks!!

    We need better from the opposition, and that may be 9 or more years away, as long as this Government keeps trying to meet their goals, and we give them the time and the mandate.

  7. mickysavage 7

    Mark Mitchell has withdrawn. Expect him to pop up on the front bench. He is currently ranked 21.

  8. Carolyn_Nth 8

    Jane Patterson (RNZ) has just tweeted that Mitchell has not withdrawn.

    I thought Joyce had withdrawn recently?

    I reckon Adams.

  9. JohnSelway 9

    Adam’s or Bridges I reckon

  10. Dunk 10

    anyone else find it cute that Nats are having a drop-off almost STV run-off style election for their leader. Shouldn’t they just be happy with the biggest candidate?

  11. mauī 11

    I find the whole process bizarre. If you’re a National voter it’s sort of like turning up to work one week and finding you have a new big boss selected by your manager and you just suck up any misgivings you have about how the company operates and rely on some inner faith that your manager knows best.

  12. Carolyn_Nth 12

    hmmm… it’s taking long enough. The day of the short knives?

  13. Wonderpup 13

    My interest is in what Judith Collins will call her new party, as she splits the conservative right off the National Party. “Tru Tories”?

  14. mac1 14

    In other breaking news of equal import, Max Key has a dog.

    • Ed 14.1

      Max Key.
      Symptomatic of the narcissism that pollutes and distorts so many in this once proud country.

      • AB 14.1.1

        Sadly, in the modern era you don’t even need to be good-looking to be self-regarding. At least Narcissus himself had a partial excuse.

    • Tamati Tautuhi 14.2

      No Max Key’s girlfriend’s cat is pregnant.

    • Stuart Munro 14.3

      And on the whole the dog will be smarter, more trustworthy, and more charismatic than the National leader. It will probably have some dirty politics directed at it to keep it out of the running.

      • mac1 14.3.1

        Actually, Stuart Munro, it won!

        Grrowwrrfffroffroffroffgrrrrrrr. You need an attack dog with a bit of mongrel in Opposition; and every dog needs a handler…………….

        Who holds the leash of power?

      • Incognito 14.3.2

        Dogs have parasites such as ticks, fleas, and worms. The DP brigade is a parasite of the worst kind that sucks the life out of our democracy till it is so anaemic that it’ll die a slow and painful death. Anybody who has a symbiotic relationship with this parasite therefore is a parasite themselves.

  15. Cinny 15

    Still waiting, still laughing, planning on laughing even louder when we find out the news. I know it’s childish but I just can’t stop laughing about the whole situation.

  16. Tamati Tautuhi 16

    The owners of New Zealand and the NWO will have already decided who is the next National Party Leader.

  17. Ed 17

    Taking a long time

    • Cinny 18.1

      Congrats to Fletcher.

    • veutoviper 18.2

      A good choice, IMHO. Shane Jones and Tracey Martin apparently had said they did not want the Deputy position.

      Fletcher represents generational renewal as he was born in 1974 and is aged 43/4. (And no, NZF is not made up of all oldies! I did some research on this before the 2017 general election and they have a considerable number of younger members, especially on their Board.)

      From Wikipedia

      Fletcher H. Tabuteau (born 1974) is a New Zealand politician who was elected to the New Zealand parliament at the 2014 general election as a representative of the New Zealand First.

      Born and raised in Rotorua, Tabuteau was an economics lecturer and head of the business school at Waiariki Institute of Technology before being elected at the 2014 election after being ranked fourth on the party list. He stood in the Rotorua electorate.
      He has previously stood for New Zealand First in 2002, 2005 and 2011.[citation needed] Tabuteau was re-elected on the New Zealand First party list during the 2017 general election. Following the formation of a coalition government consisting of Labour, New Zealand First, and the Greens, Tabuteau was appointed as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and the Minister for Regional Economic Development Shane Jones.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fletcher_Tabuteau

      and more from the Beehive website

      Fletcher Tabuteau has been a member of New Zealand First since its inception. He believes that New Zealand First represents common sense and has always had a forthright and clear direction for New Zealand’s future encapsulated in the party’s name.

      Growing up in Rotorua, Fletcher spent years working in the tourism industry. He has worked in retail and ran his own consulting business specialising in marketing and business communications. Before entering Parliament, Fletcher was a secondary teacher in maths and social studies, and a lecturer in economics and business.

      Fletcher, with his students, won awards in both specialist areas – the Supreme Business Award in the National Young Enterprise Secondary Schools competition and a top placing in the Auckland University New Zealand Economics Competition. He is passionate about sustainable economic development and helping people to realise their own potential.

      Fletcher has a strong family history in Rotorua and the surrounding districts, and is of Ngati Ngararanui, Ngati Rangiwewehi, and Ngati Whakaue descent. Fletcher wants the best for the people of New Zealand and the government to make decisions in the best interests of New Zealanders and New Zealand.

      https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/biography/fletcher-tabuteau

      And I really hope that we get to see Tabuteau put up against Bridges! No comparison imho.

  18. David Mac 19

    Simon says.

    • Cinny 19.1

      ROFL !!!! The fact of the matter is…… bahhahahahahahahahahaha

      LMFAO !!!!!!!!!!!! You beauty ahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

  19. mary_a 20

    Simon Bridges is the new fuhrer!

  20. Kevin 21

    Ahhh, the angry little man prevails.

  21. AB 22

    Wow – he makes John Key sound like Winston Churchill

  22. Cinny 23

    Paula is deputy? My sides are hurting now from laughter. Life is good 🙂

    • mary_a 23.1

      @ Cinny (23) …. yes, getting better all the time for the coalition government. Natz is the gift that keeps on giving 🙂

      And so the carnival of the abominations begins …

  23. greywarshark 24

    It could be the time for those who haven’t read John Mortimer’s series on a Brit politician and the various machinations and silo thinking that arose in the life of this guy. It’s getting to be that fact is stranger than fiction.
    1. Paradise Postponed (1985)
    2. Titmuss Regained (1989)
    3. The Sound of Trumpets (1998)

  24. patricia bremner 25

    So, more roads of national importance and more mean bene’ bashing???
    That will get them over the line. NOT!!!!

  25. SpaceMonkey 26

    So Simon says that in the next few weeks he will outline what kind of leader he is going to be… one that you can understand what he is saying would be a good place to start. Geez… talk about swallowing vowels. Where are our orators?

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