If Bridges wants to do more as Prime Minister than get his portrait hoisted in an obscure corridor of Parliament he needs to win office in his own right and to do that he must end Peters’ political career.
- Phase 1: End Winston’s political career
- Phase two: ?
- Phase 3: Become PM
What Damien Grant doesn’t seem to realise is that in order for his grand underpants stealing plan to work National will need to be well in front of Labour in the first place. As we all know that is currently not the case.
[…] Bridges has two options. He can dance around the prospect of having to sup with Peters, debasing himself and his party for a chance to be humiliated, tethered and degraded for three miserable years […]
- Phase 1: Sup with Peters
- Phase 2: ?
- Phase 3: Become PM
Or he can declare that he’d be happy to simply be the member for Tauranga rather than have a possible premiership cheapened by an association with Peters. At a stroke he makes NZ First irrelevant. Nothing more than a right-wing faction of the Labour Party.
[…] It is a huge gamble but it also would define Bridges as a leader of courage, honour and integrity. […] It would also make him popular.
- Phase 1: Declare that National will refuse to do a deal with Winston
- Phase 2: ?
- Phase 3: Be a popular loser.
[…] Bridges will then be free to apply the blowtorch to all members of the coalition with gusto and drive home the point to soft conservative voters than a vote for Winston is a vote for Labour.
Bridges is one bad poll away from oblivion and he will not win the keys to Premier House by earnest attention to detail and well written speeches. He needs to slay a dragon. Through the heart. With a wooden stake.
Stuff
Another point missed by Damien Grant is that his plan requires us to assume that NZ First AND the Greens will both poll under 5% in the election thereby wasting votes which will then be reallocated
This has never happened under MMP.
For the minor coalition parties to both poll under 5%, it would require the fantastical premise that none of them campaign.
Finally, it all presupposes that if National rules NZ First out as a coalition partner that NZ First doesn’t campaign with a pitch that given National cannot form a government without coalition partners then only a vote for NZ First can halt the lunacy of the Greens.
Whilst Damien Grant’s underpants stealing plan might make the politically bewildered happy along with the Never Peters brigade, it simply ignores the reality of MMP politics and ignores the reality of Bridges‘ inept leadership.
