While no one can ever write Winston off, I just get the feeling that NZFirst don’t have the momentum now.
It’s surprising because the anti free market ideology of NZ First is needed now more than ever.
The NZF argument that Think Big was right but the wrong decade and the self sufficiency necessary to survive global shocks demands State investment are all at their most valid, yet what was Winston’s main bugbear at his conference this year?
Removing Māori names from Government Agencies.
I mean, sure, no one knows what Waka Kotahi is or means anymore, but to pretend Wellington Virtue Signalling is the most pressing issue the country faces seems ridiculous.
I don’t think NZFirst will get over 5% for a couple of reasons:
- The feral antivax electorate he has been flirting with have a far more crazy option to vote for with Bishop Brian and the Qanon level disconnected reality of Sue Grey as true believer candidates.
- The NZFirst electorate are actually very old and dying now and that makes it very difficult when the demographics are already weighted in favour of Gen Xers and Millennials.
- Winston is very old now and doesn’t have the same level of showmanship in his campaign.
Forces inside National are freaking out at the power of ACT and are desperately working to cut Shane Jones a deal in Northland so that NZF become a hand break to David Seymour’s dominance of policy.
I don’t think NZFirst is savvy enough to capture the culture war zeitgeist that ACT do so well and their policies don’t have any real headline punch power, meaning a deal in Northland will be the only way they have of getting back into Parliament.
All eyes will be on Northland.
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All valid points. But I think you are under estimating the number of rest homes in NZ – who never get polled, but Winnie gets.
Also the ‘protest vote’, alot of older voters can’t bring themselves to vote for the two main parties anymore as they are sickened at the appalling state of the country. So see Winston/ Shane as a voice of reason.
He’s run out of people to lie to.
It’s a shame he doesn’t actually stand for what he says he does because we could really use those values now.
But he’s a liar and a sellout as is his party.
NZ First: do not resuscitate.
While ranting about three waters, he could focus on waste water, and rebrand as Winnie the poo.
Can NZF cross 5%?
Fuck, I sincerely hope not.
Tax the rich!
“Wellington Virtue Signalling” definitely IS the most pressing issue when it’s clear it’s destroying our once good education system and creating a racial divide that could conceivably be the precursor to a civil war.
Andrew. Correction. Destroyed a good education system, not destroying. Sexualising children as well.
Remember ‘ the innocence of childhood ‘ ? These creeps have put the boot into that as well, and their priorities are worse than socially destructive. Peters is a man in his prime, and as others say, the best of a bad bunch. Shame about Shane Jones, his hubris is bigger than his spark, but there’s others even worse.
100% and for all his other faults Shane Jones is actually quite bright so that is one quality he can bring to parliament if he gets in as we all know it is sadly lacking right now.
Fantail Yep. Shane Jones has appeared to have a genuine concern about the plight of our young guys, and I’d go Peters if I thought that he could translate that into action. When that dreadful little dwarf English, who’s fathered five boys himself, wrote other people’s sons off as useless druggies, he didn’t just do them a disservice, and prejudice their employment prospects, but he dishonestly delivered another blow to the national psyche, which we, as a country didn’t really need. Most of our young guys are great, often in crippling circumstances, and inflicted now with a third rate education system and a very uncertain world, and Bill English deserved to be horsewhipped for using them destructively for his own agendas.
Another thing about Peters, is that it’d be rather nice to have a few more grownups in Parliament.
If National cut a deal with Winston to get Jones back in power they would lose my vote and I would go for Act . I understand that Jones is not that popular with many of the Maori in the area so unless he is cut a deal he can kiss that gravy train goodbye.
Winston is like the grumpy grandfather that turns up at funerals in his best suit just to remind people it is not him that has die.
Wellington Virtue Signalling, as you put it, is confusing and confounding to ordinary mortals who merely wish to navigate the straits of survival and get through the turnstiles on the path to some sort of stability. If you cannot understand or decode the directions written in government pidgen life is frustrating and stressful, which could b why a lot of people don’t even bother as in the ‘census’ fiasco.
Is Shane Jones popular enough in Northland to get across the line even with a Natis hand-me-up?
NZF are a Bunch of Haz Beans, old political relics hardly a member or Candidate under 70 years of age.
Unfortunately NZF could have been a major force in NZ Politics however Winston is easily distracted and gets himself tangled up in litigation and fighting off court battles rather than concentrating on what is good for the country. Unfortunately NZF do not have any young rising stars in the NZF Party, their best politicians Ron Mark and Tracey Martin have left the NZF Party and all you have left are Winston and Shane Jones. Don’t hold much hope of NZF getting the required 5%.
Seems reasonable. I mean, Shane Jones?
ACT captures the culture war zeitgeist well? David went in RCR and when asked about drag queens in front of children, said he was comfortable with it. He’ll sell the culture to whoever is buying. NZF just polled at 4.8%, the best is yet to come. Think 10% + ✅️
Very interesting article Martyn plus you raise an important point Ngungukai, well stated.
Sounds like NZF is going to just focus on US style culture wars this election.
Bad idea. The reason DeSantis cannot beat Trump
Winston can fuck off. I lost any and all respect from the guy when he jumped on the anti vax bandwagon. Plus the fact that the guy supports right wing neo liberal policy and has all along, he just acts as controlled opposition most of the time.
Let’s retire the guy for good.
You can try and talk up Jones being given a life line in the North as much as you like. You mischievous scamp.. He is never getting a deal. He is in a head to head with Matt King to see which one of them can crack 500 votes and come fourth in Northland. The only hope Labour have is to hope you and others keep talking up the flea end of the spectrum in the belief it might shave a few percentage points away from National.
Jones has failed four times.
Sumsuch you are right if he concentrated on positivity rather than negativity and wanting to have a fight with everyone Winston First Party may do a little better. He would have been a more successful lawyer than a politician.
Shane Jones won’t win anything – he talks funny and is a pompous twat. Brian Tamaki would have more chance and he’s a delusional grifter. Dr. Lance O’Sullivan would be shoe in. Why can’t we attract decent NZ’ers into politics? A. Because it’s a shit show. The sooner the AI comes up with a decent meritocracy the better – I’m over the Westminster Party politics BS.
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