The week the National coup rumour went into overdrive โ Thomas Coughlan
Bored MPs, trapped at Parliament with nothing but a whiskey bottle to keep them company, are liable to talk. This talking is even more dangerous because the Parliament bar, Pint of Order (now better known by the sick-making acronym Poo โ did no one think of that?) is not required to stay open when Parliament is sitting, a change made some years ago, but which continues to rankle MPs and journalists.
MPs go back to their offices and talk. Thereโs only one thing National MPs are talking about this week, and itโs the challenged position of the Government: behind in some polls, and no longer trusted on the economy.
Commentary has shifted negatively, giving MPs plenty to talk about. Conversation inevitably shifts to one topic: Prime Minister Christopher Luxonโs leadership.
Actually it was The Daily Blog who started the rumours last week…
The leadership whispers against Luxon have begun
…one of the most important rules in NZ Political Journalism is to never admit you read The Daily Blog (we can see you ISP addresses) and never admitting we were the source of anything.
We know backbench National MPs are doing the phone calls.
The struggle is that it can’t just be Luxon, it has to be Nicola as well because it’s her economic pathway that is destroying them.
Much of this plotting was done at Jim Bolger’s funeral ironically.
REMEMBER Luxon was appointed as the final curse from Judith Collins telling her followers to back Luxon over Bridges as a final FU to Simon.
Luxon was appointed leader by the worst elements of National.
Here are the issues for a leadership spill.
It can’t be Erica because of her skeletons.
30 seconds after her first speech as leader there would be questions form the floor using Parliamentary privilege the would immediately cause a political nuclear detonation.
Bishop has to be Finance Minister (those claiming Willis and Bish have a deep friendship don’t appreciate how little that means for a power hungry former tobacco lobbyist), and the leader will be a compromise candidate, Louise Upston.
The redirection would be to a big spending Jim Bolger type of decent society twist while building more houses on urban transit zones.
The danger for the spiller’s is would ACT and NZF take that as a reason to quit the Coalition and go to the polls early.
This final issue is the only thing holding up the challenge.
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If you tell a lie often enough some will believe it true the same applies to wishful thinking.
And we know you live in a fantasy world trev
stop lying to your self Trev is always a good place to start
Well this coalition has been lying to us for over two years!
I think we all know that the new National Party theme tune, now playing in people’s ears, is Bob Dylan’s…”It’s All Over Now Baby Blue”…
Only the seriously deluded, and/or ignorant, would believe otherwise.
The ‘Coalition of Clusterfuckery’ are now being talked about in the Cafes and Tearooms around N Z. as being the worst of the worst governments that this country has had to endure…and they have only been in 2 years… what a terrible tragedy for N.Z…. that such idiocy was allowed to gain power…money bought idiocy!
We hear these discussions all the time as we travel around the country…you don’t even need to be eaves dropping …people are openly voicing loudly to each other….
The mometum has shifted dramatically…. the naive, ignorant ,self-indulgent, group thinking, narcissistic , corporate gabbling buffoons have not got N.Z. “Back On Track”…NZ was never off track….until they came along…
Instead they shifted the tracks to the ‘no exit’ cliff top sign …and then kept driving…
They will be gone next Oct./Nov …if not before…Winston can see that… and he loves his job as Foreign Affairs Minister..
Luxon will stay ,because he is too fucken dumb to see he cant do the job, and who would want to step up to lead that bunch of hate filled shit bags .Fuck me even Winston cant believe what he has got him self into ,and the fact that his river of filth foil hat party is going up in the polls shows desperation for tribal National voters .
Governments don’t like facing the prospect of losing power and in this case its the rich donors and vested soft corruption interests who will want some security for their investment and continue to have influence.
A new leadership team has always replaced the incumbents leading hated governments who are in terminal decline.
MP’s are obsessed with self preservation.
I expect that by the general election National will have dumped Luxon and probably Willis who are associated with a lot of the damage done. There are others in the background who have kept their heads down waiting for the opportunity to save their jobs. No one like being hated or unpopular. NZF and ACT have been responsible for the huge drop in support now evident in polls and surveys.
The current government has less than a year to turn it around including a budget to present next year.
There is to much money at stake to have them fail in a years time.
Watch Labour and NZF being courted to ensure the neo liberal economy continues if the National party look like losing.
I must first say I agree with most of the postings from others in this article. You are saying what I have been thinking.
We have an Often Missing in Action, Part-time prime minister who is probably ONLY in the job for the Pay Packet, Perks of the job and being addressed as prime minister(deliberate use of lower case because Luxon really doesn’t merit being addressed using capitals). He is probably lining himself up for a knighthood like his beloved John Key. He is Weak, Gutless, Spineless, Cowardly Self-Serving Incompetent and Useless. He thinks he is Entitled to Do what he wants and No-one In government will Pull him up to Account because it’s likely there is No Committee, Agency, Department, Commission to hold ministers to account even after they have left politics. Just like He(Luxon)does not pull up Seymour or Peters. Because all in all this government is LUXON’s Government even if it is a coalition of clowns.
Once English Literature Degree holder Nicola Willis became finance minister(again lower case)she has taken NZ on the Great Leap Backwards. She too needs to be held accountable for HER INCOMPETENCE. I mean it staggers me to this day that in a Fit of Pique and so soon after election 2023 she cancelled the Ferries contract via a “TEXT MESSAGE”!!!!! I am sure she wanted to eliminate any reminder of the previous Labour government from the History books and in a HIGHLY CHILDISH manner she DELIVERED NZers with over HALF a Billion Dollars of NZ Taxpayers Money on the Breakout of Ferries – the Ferries that We Could Have Had by 2026 but now have to wait till 2029 to see them(if they arrive on time)!!!? She truly is BAD at the role of minister of finance and on Luxon’s Head Be It.
National have probably now left it too late to select a replacement leader and at the same time a replacement minister of finance. But what else is there in National to replace the Two Top Incompetents???!!! Mainly because I have come to the conclusion that National is Riddled with Bad Eggs and there is No-one even Competent enough to replace the Undynamic Duo of Luxon and Willis.
NZers have lost trust of this government and no amount of Denial and Blame-Games by Luxon etc will alter that perspective. And no amount of pre-election Bribery Vote Buying will help them one Friggin’ but.
I will be voting next year and it MOST DEFINITELY NOT be National because along with its Total Incompetence it has the Aura of being Prolific Liars when it suits them.
“and who would want to step up to lead that bunch of hate filled shit bags?” Another hate filled shitbag of course…