Via The Poll Bludger - at his new digs at Crikey - Helen Clark has called an election in New Zealand - with a very long eight week campaign. It used to be the case that it was quite difficult to follow NZ elections from Oz, when we just had the press, but now we’ve got the blogosphere, I expect we’ll be able to keep quite a close eye on the campaign.
Anyone wanting a primer on what’s been happening in the lead up to the campaign and lots of links should check out No Right Turn.
Other links and commentary solicited!
Brief scan, couldn’t find anything.
Helen Clark is a big favourite of mine.
I used to envy Kiwis having a dignified leader over the last decade when Howard was about some of his childish Gallipolli stunts, let alone the snide insults against Kiwis and all the Bush-grovelling.
No, am not a Kiwi, have some as friends who are and they are no worse than certain folk I know who are Aussie, including myself.
Deborah at In A Strange Land moved from NZ to Adelaide at the beginning of 2008 and will no doubt be keeping a close eye, as here.
What a curious-looking cat.
Not one of those they were going to import from South Africaas as nemesis for the all the possumy thingies, ’til Garrett got wind of it?
Geez, just got a geck at Clark’s likely opponent SMH.
A young rich guy looking straight from the flying squads, by the name of Tim Dick.
By Christ!
Could again ever a name describe so accurately its owner. The photo accompanies the story.
Be worried for our close cousins, if this gets in!
@ paul walter
Tim Dick is the journo. John Key is the rich guy challenging Helen.
I know that getting facts right is not held in any regard at all at LP but it can’t be too much of a struggle to work out from the SMH article that the name of the leader of the NZ National Party is John Key, not Tim Dick.
Tim Dick is the name of the interviewer.
Only a complete dick could get that wrong.
So LP’s responsible for the mistakes of its commenters now. GregM?
I trust you hold the right of centre blogs to the same high standard.
GregM, Dan @ 5 has just given you an object lesson in how to make a correction without denigrating another commenter. And now we’re not talking about the post’s topic. Please take note!
Sorry Kim. I just thought that denigrating a person because of their (mistakenly assumed) surname was uncalled for.
That aspect of the comment you’re referring to wasn’t particularly helpful either.
Doesn’t explain the odd remark about LP though, does it. Actually, GregM, one of the reasons I like coming here is that if somebody does get the facts wrong then somebody else will usually correct them quick smart, and over the course of a day or so, a picture emerges that is both much more detailed and much closer to the complex truth of things (including comments from the hostile, the dissenting, the crazy etc etc) than any overview one could ever hope to assemble by trawling through the MSM. Anyone who’s every worked in a non-dysfunctional team knows how this kind of thing works. It’s the argument I use whenever someone starts up the tired old blogs v newspapers thing.
Dan, thanks for that advice. Can feel releived for Tim Dick now, in the knowledge that Tim Dick (probably) doesn’t look like John Key ( or Kyle Sandiland ).
Who, as we all know, looks like a complete…
Thanks to Greg M, for his insights into aspects of the topic thread; the state of NZ politics.
Anyone wanting a primer on what’s been happening in the lead up to the campaign and lots of links should check out No Right Turn.
Naturally, the politicians make their announcement when I’ve gone on holiday. How do they know?
Sometimes a key is just a key.
The current NZ government is screwed. They will lose badly. Because of NZ’s proportional representation, there is a very small chance that they will be able to form a coalition government, but this is unlikely.
As a Helen Clark fan, I’m not convinced that this is bad thing. The Labour party has held power for too long and it shows. A period of National government may not be a bad thing, both for the country and for the Labour party. Particularly now that Don Brash has been replaced with the more moderate John Key.
Clarification: #11 is in response to #9.
I’ll be interested to see if:
* NZ First has any legs beyond Peters
* ACT survives Douglas, Prebble etc - those guys are getting long in the tooth, issues far distant &c.
* Nationals can build bridges to Maori (and not just the usual spokespeople, but actual Maori)
* Labour can get away with “more to do but headed in the right direction”.
* Labour go into Opposition (as seems likely), they have the people to bounce back quickly, whereas if the Nationals lose they’re pretty much buggered if Key chucks it in.
John Key is moderate? I don’t think so. Ken Miles is a liar. Key plans to starve the NZ public education system to give greater subsidies to profit-making private schools.
silkworm, you can disagree with someone without gratuitously calling them a liar. Please take note.
Yes, I withdraw that remark.