Taking Tea with 42 & 38.
The interview that wasn't, a farewell to James, and look out behind you Christopher.
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.
A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.
There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today.
It would of course have been in tribute to the article Steve Braunias published on Monday, regarding the remarkably empty CV of ACT MP Todd Stephenson when it comes to his arts portfolio.
It was a very funny piece, highlighting the absurdity of having a passionless corporate shill represent a field like the arts. I’m sure Mr Stephenson is very good at flogging pharmaceuticals but he really didn’t know anything about his portfolio, which is surely a requirement of the job?
Surely it’s a good idea to select people based on their knowledge and expertise. For example, I really like James Shaw, but I wouldn’t make him the All Blacks coach and to be fair I doubt he’d put his hand up for the position.
James will give his valedictory speech this afternoon in parliament, it will no doubt be a very fine one with laughter and a few tears. I’m going to really miss his maturity and his commitment to the things he believes in.
So now we have a new Greens co-leader, the one that many have been waiting for - Chlöe Swarbrick. She made an early appearance in Monday’s poll with a respectable 6% as preferred Prime Minister.
Or to put it another way the same proportion of people said they wanted Chlöe to be PM in that poll as voted for NZ First at the last election.
I might be a bit biased, what are the odds? But in my view the Greens have never had a bad leader. Jeanette, Rod, Russell, Metiria, James, Marama, and now Chlöe are all people I greatly respect and admire.
I’m not sure how many supporters of other parties would say that they’ve always had excellent leaders? NZ First supporters might I guess, but that hardly counts, they’ve only had the one. Besides which, I doubt that many of the people that were originally Winston’s mob would support him now.
Anyway you wouldn’t pick James for a sporting role. For the same reason that Todd shouldn’t be in an arts role. Or, for another example, how about Simeon Brown?
No one in their right mind would put him in charge of public transport. He has no interest in it, I doubt he’s ever used it other than for photo opportunities - it’s just silly he’d be the last person for the role.
It made me think, what would be the most ridiculous appointment of all? Who really warranted that Braunias treatment that was so deliciously handed out? I posted the following:
Some commented unkindly that it would be a short interview, that Willis was a true trickle down believer and wouldn’t be persuaded otherwise, not by the existence of mere evidence.
I’m concerned that Nicola has been promoted beyond her ability. That her upcoming budget will not just be meanspiritied, taking from the public good, but will be utterly fiscally irresponsible. It feels like Willis is atop a giant fiscal cliff and is about to push Aotearoa over the edge - with nobody telling her to stop.
Well, apart from all the experts - but this is a post expert age we’re living in, so they don’t count.
Hmm that cliff image made me think of a really good song, some of you will know it. You can check it out at the end of this newsletter.
It's real early morning
No-one is awake
I'm back at my cliff
Still throwing things off
I listen to the sounds they make
On their way down
I follow with my eyes 'til they crash
Imagine what my body would sound like
Slamming against those rocks
When it lands
Will my eyes
Be closed or open?
Damn, it’s stuck in my head now. A great tune for a ghastly image, but more to the point, where the heck did Nicola get all those flying monkeys from that look like Chris Bishop?
It’s not just Nicola’s lack of financial nous that worries me, it’s also that she’s the heir apparent if it all goes tit’s up for Luxon.
After Monday’s disaster of a poll on 1 News there was a second poll announced yesterday, an internal Labour one, that was even worse for the government.
In her column Jenna wrote:
“In its internals, undertaken by Talbot Mills, Labour is neck-and-neck with the Nats - the red team on 33 percent and the blue on 34 percent." Where the Talbot Mills differs from last night's 1 News Verian poll is New Zealand First on 6 percent - keeping their heads above the 5 percent threshold needed to score a place in the Parliament. Even so, with the third leg of the coalition ACT on 7 percent - on the Talbot Mills poll the right would only make it to 59 seats - not enough to govern.”
I commented that the second poll would hurt even more, showing the coalition without a majority, even with NZ First still above the threshold. And that I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the Nats inner sanctum as they were discussing the results.
Clearly they must have been concerned. So much so that they even had John Key sitting in the guest seats during parliament yet.
Luxon looked rattled, annoyed at being questioned in much the same way as Key used to be. In this short clip from Newshub the PM explains that things might be tough for those losing their jobs, but asks - why oh why is nobody thinking of those having to make the hard calls to sack them for tax cuts? #thestruggleisreal
Christopher doesn’t seem to understand why people can’t see how hard this is on him. Surely he’s the one worthy of sympathy here?
If you think that Key’s appearance in parliament yesterday was merely a coincidence then the full on post poll panic was confirmed when Luxon posted this on his Facebook page last night.
Luxon title the photo, “A quiet night with PM 38.” For goodness sake Christopher, you’re John’s boy, we get it.
What I find most disturbing about this, and there’s so much, is that someone had those shirts printed ahead of time. Did they do it especially for this photo op? Or did “42” and “38” have them made privately, to wear around the house in celebration of themselves?
On Luxon’s page David said, “I’ll bet I know which one is the little spoon”, and Patrick commented “Filling each other pockets, Chloe #43”.
I liked the sound of that second one, of Chloe #43, but I’d also be happy with a return to #41 or #40, or even #37.
Alas I didn’t think that Nicola would respond to a request for interview, or any questions about becoming #43. She still hasn’t replied to the open letter I sent her, so I assume she must be very busy.
Fair enough too, it’s a balancing act between claiming that the sky is falling, that Labour has left the cupboard bare, and dolling out treats to supporters.
Kind of like announcing pay rises for MPs while everyone else is being told to tighten their belts. If you’d like to know more about that wee bit of hypocrisy you can check out the fine chaps from BHN here:
It was a shame that I couldn’t pose Nicola a few questions. I’d like to have asked who her favourite Finance Minister was.
I imagine she’d suggest someone like Bill English, and talk about his Social Investment ideas while laughing about how she’d have to instruct the resulting, well meaning, poor houses to dilute their gruel by a further 7-8%. Oh how she’d laugh.
Meanwhile we’d both know she was kidding. That Ruth Richardson was truly her idol, and the one she most wanted to emulate. Even if her brand of cruelty has been out of fashion for some time.
As a result I guess we’ll just have to judge Willis’ suitability for the role on her results.
Only 29 more sleeps until the budget. Possibly fewer than that if you’re Nicola Willis.
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As promised here’s Bjork with Hyperballad, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. If you turn it up quite loud your neighbours will be able to join in too. Depending on their proximity to you and the volume of your stereo. Something to consider.
Watching Luxon's demeanor on the news last night was a revelation again in just how thin skinned, arrogant and petulant he truly is when he is being questioned investigatively, properly, by reporters, it takes very little of such questioning to cause his skin to flush red, his eyes to narrow and the whine to creep into his voice ... Ye Gods not so much a prime minister as a middle aged entitled shitty tempered teenager! How the hell did Jonkey ever think Luxon was up to the job when he anointed him? ... how telling that he turned up in parliament yesterday! Oh to be a fly on the wall of the National caucus.
I suspect that James would do a finer job as All Blacks coach, than Todd would do as champion of the Arts.