It will come as no comfort to Jacinda Ardern that her obfuscations of the last seven days haven’t gone un-noticed and yesterday’s piece by Bryce Edwards on The Democracy Project is a very good pastiche of the obvious holes in her handling of the border problems fall-out.
Much to Ms Ardern’s horror, I would imagine, the article appeared Sunday night on both Stuff and the NZ Herald. Dr Edwards’ piece includes several media comments and clips a quote from another good offering by Tim Watkin which is worthy of expanding, cutting, as it does, to the quick of her double-speak:
“She claimed on one hand that she thought the universal tests were happening (as per the June 23 statement and July 15 speech). On the other hand she recalled conversations about staff being reluctant to be tested. Both can’t be true. If the Prime Minister was being briefed about reluctant staff, she knew that not everyone on the border was being tested and that the statements she and her ministers were making about all frontline workers being tested were false.”
False, and demonstrably so.
“For a politician whose reputation is based on trust and who has said she would never lie, it’s been a damaging week.”
What dodges, side-steps, deflections and diversions will Ms Ardern spring this week to divert, not just from her failings, but from her fibs of the last seven days? Who knows? Here’s a tip, don’t expect anything along these lines:
Mr Gower: “You’ve never told a lie in politics?”
Ms Ardern: “No. No, and if I have made a mistake I’ve fronted it, and I’m going to make them in the future too; Paddy, let’s be clear, but it’s all about fronting them when you do.”
Because, if you do, you’re going to be disappointed.
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