A curious myth sprang up ‘back in the day’, whereby politicians thought they could buy votes and emerge as a permanent government. They believed the man in the street was that stupid; believed people were so feckless and devoid of aspiration and self-reliance that a handout in return for a
One of the forgotten wars in history is the Spanish Civil War. It occurred in the mid to late 1930s, and was to some extent the Vietnam of its day; then immediately got overshadowed by World War II and more or less forgotten, as nobody could quite recall what it
In recent days I’ve been reading Steven Joyce’s brilliant autobiography (an undeniable star performer of the Key/English Government). So much of the book is evocative in a pleasant, nostalgic way and I encourage you to purchase a copy. The passages in Joyce’s book dealing with his
For the last few weeks we have had to endure a general election campaign. It consisted of all sorts of promises, publicity stunts, claims, counterclaims, scares, opinion polls and media commentary. Then the electorate voted. Many New Zealanders found it all highly entertaining – especially when their man got stuck into
One of the curious things about the last couple of days is the high I am on. Unlike previous elections, this is the first New Zealand one (I also felt the same after voting for Donald Trump in 2016) I am ‘feeling’. It is the first one where I am
Of all the silly, preposterous nonsense in the Godfather movie – which is nothing more than a slur on people (ahem) of Sicilian descent – no scene is more silly and preposterous than when Kay asks Michael if he really is a mob boss and has just had Carlo, his brother in
As Chris Hipkins sits in the rubble of a Labour Government ejected in the biggest swing in our history, I wonder what he is thinking. Presumably he is desperately trying to think of something or someone to blame (it’s not like HE could be in any way responsible); no
Christopher Luxon announced an admirable goal of doubling New Zealand’s exports within 10 years. This is something which simply must occur in order to make us a wealthy nation again, but the lack of enthusiasm for the policy shows the ‘New Zealand Disease’ is at the ‘luetic’ stage. Mike
The events of the last few days have shocked a lot of people. It’s enormously sad that Israel has been attacked by terrorists but hopefully, something good will come out of it. Hopefully, lots of folks are shaken out of their torpor. These events reminded me of a curious
By October of 1974 Mott the Hoople had four hit albums in America and completed a very successful tour – including a week-long ‘residency’ at Madison Square Garden – where every concert was sold out. But it was taking a toll on Mott frontman, Ian Hunter: he was under enormous pressure to
I have been in Ashburton for the last few days. One of the strange things about Ashburton is the lack of election hoardings. I saw a mere one in the main street for the soon-to-be-MP National candidate, and another for the New Nation Party, but that is it. State Highway
As the opinion polls show Labour continuing to languish in the mid 20s, around 15 per cent behind the National party, we need to cast a glance at our old friend Machiavelli to understand why. Just as you ignore Adam Smith’s laws of economics at your peril (like Britain
In the leaders’ debate there was a single question on foreign policy – about AUKUS. I am a US citizen and one of the true oddities of being an American abroad is the astonishing similarities to being a ‘made man’ in cosa nostra. Let me explain. In 1986 the US Congress
I remember a radio discussion a couple of weeks before the 2002 general election between the respective party Presidents – Mike Williams, and (You-Know-Who) for National. Williams delivered what probably turned out to be a king hit by lisping “National cannot win the election so supporting them is a wasted vote”
One of the themes of the novel 1984 that is often overlooked is that not only does the regime abolish a vast number of words, but what the implications are of doing so. When there are no words for overthrowing them, and a generation or two is kept deliberately ignorant,
Peter Cook was a marvellous satirist who entertained people for decades. One of the films he starred in, and co-wrote with John Cleese, was the political-themed satire, The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer. The fascinating thing about this movie: it was made in 1967 but accurately predicted a number
