It’s Friday afternoon and I have just watched a video of Winston Peters leaving the Cordis Hotel following another day of negotiations. One could be excused for thinking there was a kindergarten or early childhood centre nearby as there were some people standing around holding microphones who, when they spoke, sounded like they were from such a place; although said people were dressed as adults, from the questions being asked they were not acting as such.
Of course I’m referring to the media pack who actually get paid to ask inane questions. Winston, in his usual way, played them like a pack of cards, with him being the ace. It is patently obvious that this man wants no truck with the jokers in the media pack and plays them for who they are, i.e. people who are not that bright. Winston was unable to brighten their gloom as he is unable to shine a light on any of the matters surrounding the negotiations.
These clowns need a light-bulb moment. Several actually. It is becoming increasingly obvious they have little comprehension of the complexities of what happens in negotiations. If they are to be successful then it will take, for the benefit of these dullards, as long as it takes. As opposed to the insulting twittering of one Tova O’Brien who wrote implying Winston was running the show and humiliating ‘a 53 year old. A former CEO of our national airline. The Prime Minister elect of our entire country’. Well Tova, hoping you might understand, here’s the real oil.
There are three adults engaged in the highly important task of forming a government. They, between them, would have more grey matter than all the MPs in the last Labour Government together, including Jacinda Ardern, although that probably goes without saying. They are fully aware of the disastrous state those comrades of the media have left the country in. This is, to a large degree, why it is taking so long. Winston alluded to this when talking to the media mob. There is more, much more, to this than just their own parties’ wants and desires.
Winston has already taken some of his wants off the table. I take two things from that. First Winston clearly wants this government to be stable, sustainable and successful. Second, he appreciates the gravity of the state the country is in and wants to play a positive part in restoring economic prosperity and democracy. Winston doesn’t have the luxury of playing games this time, even if he wanted to. Ardern did the country a huge service by deviously failing to show him the He Puapua document. One thing Winston doesn’t do is suffer fools gladly. Lying ones to boot.
I believe Luxon’s method of handling the negotiations is paying dividends and will continue to do so as we go through the next term of government. It may not be the game the media wants to play but that is more of a positive than a negative. We’ve had six years of left wing bias from journalists and it’s only through sites like The BFD we get to hear the truth. (Have you subscribed yet? Well done if you have. Please do so if you haven’t) The tittle tattle and gossip the media are inventing to write a story on the negotiations, having been denied the actual facts, is not worth the paper it is written on.
It is obvious, despite media protestations to the contrary, that Luxon’s negotiating skills are very much to the fore. When has Winston previously removed anything from any negotiations? I think at the end of the day we will have a lot to thank Luxon for. I would not be classed as his greatest fan but we should be appreciative that we have a man who is experienced in what, at the moment, is an area most crucial to the government’s performance in its first term and ultimately its chances of re-election.
All of this is way above the heads of the media rabble. They would prefer the government not to succeed so their loser friends in opposition would once more get a chance to destroy the country. These people have no understanding of the subject matter they are reporting on and, as for achieving anything in a media standup, it would be to all our benefit if they remained seated. Then, like listening to Simon and Garfunkel, we could all enjoy the ‘Sounds of Silence’.
PS. I just read in the Weekend Herald the first knowledgeable article on the negotiations, how the three parties will be operating, the various mechanisms in play, the strategies of each party and how they will be working together to come to a consensus that will ensure a stable government. Written by a journalist? Of course not. It was written by someone who understands exactly how these things work – Steven Joyce.
