The Two Boring Chrises... And Qiulae
When the final curtain fell on this game of political charades, we were left with a sobering question: Didn’t New Zealanders deserve so much better from the people who claim to lead this country?
NZ Politics
Give Thanks Where It Is Due
National need to think deeply about how they are behaving and what sort of a look they are projecting to the public. At the moment it is far from impressive.
Quick Hit: NZ First Is No Side Character
Spinoff demoted Winston Peters to a side character. Strip out NZ First’s 12 seats and the coalition loses its majority.
The End of the Two-Party Era
The votes have been counted, but there is no clear victor. Instead, New Zealanders delivered a clear message to both major parties and rewarded the smaller. Will lessons be learned?
There’s No Vacancy. Just Two Losses.
Hipkins says there is no vacancy and the election is not over. The caucus may wait until 27 November. It will not wait forever.
Face of the Day
The billionaire founder of tech companies Adaytum and Anaplan has been vocal about New Zealand’s poor economic performance in the past decade and says the country needs stability and a long-term plan.
Just a Small Reminder
Instead of fixing real problems, she left behind failed local projects like KiwiBuild and a country completely divided by race and unforgiving, officious, lockdowns.
The Two Christophers
Labour has paid the price for failing to replace Chris Hipkins. National’s failure is even more extraordinary.
A Pilgrimage to the Deep South
Perhaps the Wellington-centred media, who have been promulgating the idea that New Zealand is stuck in a slough of despond, need to get out more. The world’s always going to look miserable from a dyspeptic capital that is itself mired in the doldrums.
Well, Somebody Has to Lose
An ugly campaign. A close election. Can we win and lose gracefully?
A Win Is a Win
I just had to get this off my chest. The split vote saved the day. So far, I don’t see anyone in National’s leadership prepared to recognise anything went wrong.
Quick Hit: TPM’s Overhang Belongs in the Same Review
National and TPM both benefit from overhangs. The evidence about how they got there differs, but a serious review must examine both.
The Left’s Horror Story Has Run Into the Voters
The coalition has the better starting position, National has serious damage to explain and the final arithmetic needs more care than the victory speeches.