I’m quite fond of Mike Williams in a funny sort of way. He comes across as a loveable sort as in a cuddly teddy bear. His face wouldn’t go amiss on a packet of Huggies nappies. Just picture it, a lovely smile, every child’s idea of an ageing adorable grandad. Mike has had a very loving almost cherubic smile about him since last weekend. His rose coloured glasses are pretty much steamed up over her ladyship’s stunning but not unexpected victory.
Mike, who I’m sure considers himself to be a fairly astute person when it comes to people with political antennae, has a few things to say on the matter. It’s no surprise he calls the National campaign a disaster. Now Mike should be something of an expert on this point because as you may remember he’s been involved in a few himself, one in particular. He goes on to say that “I have never seen a worse campaign run by a political party and I’ve been involved in forty elections in Australia and New Zealand”. Which kind of begs the question, how old is Mike?
I suppose, bearing in mind the dear man’s age, we should cut him a bit of slack but I wonder Mike, if it’s not too taxing for you, if you could cast your mind back to 2008? If you can, you might recall that was the year you were involved in a New Zealand election in Australia. Do you remember, when you had an all-expenses-paid trip as President of your beloved Labour Party to dig up dirt on John Key? I can’t say that your face would have exactly graced the Huggies packet that year. However, I’m sure you think that was an absolutely brilliant campaign even though, by your own actions, you lost.
Now even National would say their campaign wasn’t up to its normal high standards. They are even admitting it in the media. National is an organisation big enough to admit when it’s fallen short, something Mike’s party has failed to do more than once during its first term. In fact, his party has a lot to learn about honesty. Labour has a leader who, while saying very little, prattles enough to often be minimalistic with the truth. Only those who are hard of hearing would be unaware of this flaw in her otherwise Pied Piper of Hamlin personality.
This could turn out to be a problem as without her mentor and guiding handbrake Winston Peters it is her door the buck will stop at. There’s now no senior person with such experience to confide in and seek advice from. Her otherwise invisible deputy leader Kelvin Davis showed on Saturday night that he was capable of an inappropriate poem but little else.
This brings me to my final point. Jacinda Ardern, who has admitted to anxiety attacks in the past, now has a potpourri of some 65 people to manage. I get the sense that they might turn out to be something of a difficult bunch to handle. Some might bud, but as in the first term, I guess most will fail to flower. (I mean you want the actual roses don’t you Mike, otherwise, you’re left with just the pricks).
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