Newsroom says polling data hint at a record election performance from NZ First. They reflected back to 1996 when the party registered as high as 29 per cent before settling back at 15 per cent. I would not be surprised if NZ First hit that target this time or surpassed it.
Next time a politician suggests we stop grovelling to foreign leaders and start putting New Zealand first, perhaps the grown ups in the room could try responding to the actual point. Or they can keep walking into the trap. Either way, NZ First wins.
The establishment media will no doubt dredge up every old controversy to paint him as a loose cannon. Ignore the noise. Laws has the skills, the audience and the political nous to make a real difference.
Speculation had been building in recent days that Laws was set for a political comeback.
Willis would do well to focus on fixing the books rather than picking fights she cannot win.
Whether you love it or loathe it, this is Nationalist policy with a capital N. The election just got a whole lot more interesting.
Luxon delivers Winston Peters a ready-made wedge and stick.
Voters and donors alike are looking for alternatives. National had better start providing them or the river of donations will continue to flow elsewhere.
National can keep ignoring the polls and the voters if they wish. They will reap what they sow.
The India FTA may yet get signed but, thanks to Jones, it will not slide through quietly. He has ensured the concerns are on the table, served up with a side of humour and zero apology.
The press gallery can keep peddling the relic story if it wants. The numbers and the political reality tell a very different tale.
Alfred Ngaro, ex National MP, leader of NewZeal Party, is now getting behind New Zealand First. But is NZ First truly becoming a ‘socially conservative’ party?
We’ve been fooled by false narratives before, including me, but the reality is clear. Mining done right drives growth, jobs and regional revival.
Peters isn’t playing nice and why should he? Recall my top political rule: if you are explaining, you are losing. He’s not explaining – he’s attacking.
Whether Aitken keeps her job is now in the hands of the politicians she clearly has strong feelings about. That is the irony she may soon have plenty of time to reflect on.
This forces Christopher Luxon and his crew to confront their bad habit of selling out to Māori interests, a pattern that kicked off under Jim Bolger and went into overdrive with John Key.
