Is Winston’s liver up to the challenge?

By
John Minto
-
27
11

Winston_Peters

Whether John Key or David Cunliffe gets to be Prime Minister after 20 September could well hinge on the decision as to who will be the New Zealand High Commissioner to London after the 2017 election.

The old warhorse Winston Peters will be planning his exit from politics and what better way than handing over the leadership of New Zealand First to  Ron Mark at the 2017 election before heading off on the ultimate junket for three years – New Zealand High Commissioner in London from 2017.

It’s a BS role full of cocktail parties, social page engagements, rubbing shoulders with the world’s elites – where the food is great, the alcohol flows free, the expense account is unlimited and responsibilities near zilch.

It’s the ultimate Garden of Eden for politicians on their last legs. The equivalent of being turned out to pasture.

Labour’s Minister of Wine and Cheese Jonathan Hunt took the job after finishing as speaker of parliament – the same path as now taken by National’s Lockwood Smith. Both of them say how important the job is in promoting New Zealand wines to Britain. The only problem for Winston is there may not be enough life left in his liver to take up this final challenge.

My pick is that unless there are dramatic shifts in the polls over the next few weeks Winston Peters will be negotiating his exit from politics with John Key or David Cunliffe after 20 September and whichever can give him the best package will become PM.

Nothing of this will be put in writing of course but such a nod and a wink arrangement will be sealed one way or another.

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Most commentators expect Peters to go with National as he did in New Zealand’s first MMP election in 1996 and it’s easy to see why. Peters has always been an unstable mix of grumpy populism but at heart he is a traditional conservative. He entered politics as a National Party MP and he will almost certainly end his political career supporting a National government – provided of course National gives him a sweet deal to exit at the 2017 election.

When he was out of parliament from 2008 to 2011 he wasn’t missed – and he won’t be missed when he finally leaves. New Zealand First has always been about Winston and Winston has always been about Winston. No loss to New Zealand politics.

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27 COMMENTS

  1. I don’t think even Winston knows which way he’ll jump – and with baby bonuses popping on the fly so early in the campaign there’s still a way to go. But I’m reminded of a dialogue from the movie Loot:

    “You keep saying every man has his price… so what’s yours?”
    “I thought you’d never ask…”

    Labour’s enthusiasm for Winston is even harder to fathom.
    He’d make a good speaker though.

    • Winston stated to the country, just this last week, he would never form a coalition with parties that will sell off our land and assets. If you can’t work out which way he’ll swing from that, and their party policies, then you need to get better informed.

      Try being informed instead of just opinionated.

      • He also said he would never work with any “raced based” parties which rules out Internet/MANA and severely hampers his chances with the Greens.

        Take anything he says with a truckload of salt. He’ll go with who offers him the best job.

      • Yep – but he also promised repeatedly not to form a government with National and then did so. Unpredictable is his form.

        • Actually he didn’t – he said he said he would go into coalition with whomever could form a government. Bolger was fairly decent for a Nat. Jenny Shipley cut Winston’s throat. Moreover it always amazes me how a certain sort of soi-disant socialist like to ignore that Winston had a confidence and supply agreement with Labour after the 2005 election.

    • I dont understand the popular belief that Winston Peters will be king maker after Sept 20th. I dont believe that NZ First will even be at the table. The natural vote for NZ First is a bare 3% ; all the rest is protest vote. Either people will vote National because they want more of John Key or they will vote to get rid of John Key.
      If people believe Peters will give support to National he wont get the protest vote and there will be a 3% wasted vote. If he says he will support Labour he might pick up some protest vote but might still lose and this produces a bigger wasted vote. So why vote NZFirst and risk losing all those votes, or worse, finding him in the National coalition anyhow.
      It makes better sense to vote IMP, which will get in anyhow and would be certain to support a Labour coalition – if Labour has the wit to accept, which, with NZ First out of the way, Labour would be virtually forced to do.

  3. The question Peters now needs to ask himself is what legacy he wants to be remembered by…

    Supporting an increasing unpopular right wing government with growing inequality and child poverty?

    Or being part of a government that takes radical steps to address these problems, and being remembered as part of the solution that addressed these social problems?

    I know how I’d want to be remembered.

  4. What a biased article. Slanging off at Winston and not believing anyone has the ability to change. Sure their party was aligned with national for many years, but if you read their party manifesto you will note a far more left party than labour. Have a read of Bryan Bruce’s latest article on party policies in regards to poverty. Also Winston stated to the country he would never form a coalition with parties that will sell off our land and assets.

    Wake up and allow people to grow, rather than print defamatory drivel that shows your closed mindedness.

    Btw, I’m not voting NZ first, I just don’t like reading crap like this that I would normally expect from a right blog.

  5. I feel obliged to say that whatever Winston’s shortcomings, he made a better foreign minister than Murray McCully could ever dream of being.

  6. Alcoholism is a serious and sad condition which affects many New Zealanders and ruins lives – it isn’t some sort of joke you can use to mock politicians with.

  8. I go with GS on this possibility.

    It is true that clubKey has warmed to possibly working with Winstson.

    But remember Winston will not allow further asset sales or Foreign land grabs again so maybe this is a bridge to far for clubkey.

  9. “Most commentators expect Peters to go with National as he did in New Zealand’s first MMP election in 1996 and it’s easy to see why. Peters has always been an unstable mix of grumpy populism but at heart he is a traditional conservative. He entered politics as a National Party MP and he will almost certainly end his political career supporting a National government – provided of course National gives him a sweet deal to exit at the 2017 election.”

    Um, no, there’s a diversity of opinions among comentators – or are we suddenly going to pretend that Fairfax and Granny Herald don’t have a pro-National bias?

    1996 was 18 years ago, six whole election cycles. 2005-2008 Winston supported the Labour government with a confidence and supply agreement.

    He entered politics as a National Party MP under Muldoon – a civic nationalist and economic protectionist. There is nothing particularly conservative about the current National government. If certain people can compromise their socialist principles to support a neoliberal capitalist convict who makes rape jokes, I think Peters can probably support a left-wing coalition.

    “When he was out of parliament from 2008 to 2011 he wasn’t missed”
    Are you suggesting that John Key’s National government couldn’t be improved on?

  11. He’s left us the Goldcard, which is positive. I might be able to use it in a few years. He also chased up the Winebox, which may have come to something if that fruitloop Wishart hadn’t been involved.

    It’s just a shame he can’t be trusted to stay onside. Given that Labour is no more to the left than Muldoon was in many areas, Winston should feel at home beside them. Shame he’s not motivated by ideology.

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