General Erection
The General Election campaign has started in earnest now, and it's actually quite good sport. I'm resigned about politics in general. I have my own strong opinions, but ultimately the two main parties are fairly close in the middle of the spectrum, so there won't be any huge changes no matter who wins. However, I do actually enjoy the theater and spectacle. 90% of what the players do and say is for appearance rather than being honest truth - not because they are deliberately or specifically dishonest, but rather because that is how the game is played. All but the most naive audience knows this and buys into it. The question is not whether there was a scandal, but rather how he handled it. Does the minister sound like she's hiding something? Does the PM sound like he's in control?
Meanwhile, the maneuverings of the small parties are fascinating, as the complexities of MMP allow for a variety of permutations, and one or two seats either way will decide the result given how close it is going to be.
The right-wing bloggers scandal (currently running hot) could gift the election to the left, although I haven't seen any poll results yet. I'm not bothered that National Party people were using blogs to leak information, but the use of foul mouthed shock-jocks like Cameron Slater is disturbing. He's not someone I like to think of as hob-nobbing with the Minister of Justice. It's fair enough for the National Party to want to use the Social Media. Their problem is that they obviously couldn't find any intelligent and fair-minded bloggers interested in promoting their agenda.
In the last couple of days, the PM has sounded genuinely rattled when answering questions about the topic, which is unheard of for John Key. I think he's rightly concerned.
Meanwhile, the maneuverings of the small parties are fascinating, as the complexities of MMP allow for a variety of permutations, and one or two seats either way will decide the result given how close it is going to be.
The right-wing bloggers scandal (currently running hot) could gift the election to the left, although I haven't seen any poll results yet. I'm not bothered that National Party people were using blogs to leak information, but the use of foul mouthed shock-jocks like Cameron Slater is disturbing. He's not someone I like to think of as hob-nobbing with the Minister of Justice. It's fair enough for the National Party to want to use the Social Media. Their problem is that they obviously couldn't find any intelligent and fair-minded bloggers interested in promoting their agenda.
In the last couple of days, the PM has sounded genuinely rattled when answering questions about the topic, which is unheard of for John Key. I think he's rightly concerned.