The Ship of State is an ancient and oft-cited metaphor expounded by Plato in the Republic, Book 6, which likens the governance of a city/state to the command of a vessel. He expands on the metaphor by arguing the only people fit to command the ship are philosopher
Saturday morning is one of routine for me. Having completed the ablutions and taken the vast array of medications needed to enable me to continue to write for the BFD I venture out to purchase the Weekend Herald. This paper is the closest the publishers get all week to what
Does anyone remember the children’s programme that ran for nearly two decades on our television screens? It was called Play School. It returned to TV One Breakfast on Tuesday morning. Just to reflect they were up with the times, the current presenters brought a gun along with them. Admittedly
The old saying “A leopard doesn’t change its spots” remains as fresh as ever thanks to our departing Prime Minister. Speaking as the Oracle of Truth from the Podium of Truth she outlined her reasons for her resignation, choking back the tears. Whether the tears were in recognition of
When one goes to investigate the meaning of the word ‘spare’ one finds it can be used as an adjective, a noun and a verb. As an adjective it means what Harold is – additional to what is required for ordinary use. As a noun it means ‘an item kept in
Many people are fond of making New Year resolutions. This being an election year I prefer to make a political prediction. I predict that the election result will see Jacinda Ardern able to present herself with a well-deserved medal – the DCM medal. This will not be for Doing Communications
The last Weekend Herald before Christmas featured a summing up of the political year from three of its regular opinion writers: Fran O’Sullivan, Mike Munro and Bruce Cotterill. Fran, a seasoned journalist, mostly writes objectively without fear or favour, as the saying goes, through her media lens. Mike Munro,
The pressure Jacinda Ardern is now under is there for all to see. She has gone from the giddy heights of 60% adulation, thanks to her buddies at the UN putting the fear of God into everyone over Covid, to 29% popularity in the latest polls. Her apology in Parliament
The old saying ‘Never judge a book by its cover’ came into play in Parliament this week. Not surprisingly it concerned the Prime Minister. It followed her answer to a question from David Seymour who, in my opinion, is the most eloquent questioner on the Opposition benches. He frames his
Imagine the Labour Party as a tree – a fruit tree. On this tree are 64 pieces of fruit representing the number of MPs in the Labour Caucus. Sixty-four fruit loops if you like. Maybe we should show them some kindness (Jacinda’s buzzword) and call them lemons. Both terms
It has always been questionable how much collective grey matter there is in the Labour Party Caucus. Now we have it confirmed: not a lot. In fact, a distinct paucity. They have as much political nous as a mouse ignoring a block of cheese. These 64 miscreants presumably harbour ambitions
Willie Jackson managed what National Broadcasting Spokesperson Melissa Lee and Herald reporter Thomas Coughlan aptly described as a “train wreck of an interview”. ACT leader David Seymour went further and said if Helen Clark had been leader Jackson would have been sacked thirty seconds after the conclusion of the interview.
“No one gets to lie to me twice”, said Winston, ruling out going with Labour after the election, in an article written by Audrey Young in the Weekend Herald. Winston Peters is without a doubt this country’s consummate politician. He possesses the most accurate antennae sensing where the country
If the National Party want to win big next year, they need look no further than the American midterm elections. There was supposed to be, according to the polls, a red wave with a substantial Republican majority in the House and a workable majority in the Senate. This turned out
Information Opinion There is a lot to like about Mayor Wayne Brown’s first few weeks in office. Already there is a stark contrast between the incumbent and the man he replaced. Brown, a man of action, has only served to highlight the inertia of the previous wearer of the
For some time it has been obvious to me that the polls have failed to reflect the true mood of the country. There seems to have been a lag between what the poll numbers were throwing up and where the country actually was. The numbers for Labour have seemed on
