tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789853048889996288.post8401813301441316420..comments2012-10-29T19:41:16.192+13:00Comments on Global Dialog 1: New Zealand: How could Labour have got it so wrong?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789853048889996288.post-223501496867302142011-10-30T09:43:00.437+13:002011-10-30T09:43:00.437+13:00Having now also seen Key's droning address, I&...Having now also seen Key's droning address, I'd agree that his aim might be to bore the people into voting for National.Robert Kimbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11581252229039424449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789853048889996288.post-81909334922817735072011-10-29T23:36:42.411+13:002011-10-29T23:36:42.411+13:00I thought Labour's ad was OK actually, no grea...I thought Labour's ad was OK actually, no great shakes though to be honest. They issued their points of difference, and were effective in what they said. But no, I don't think they're going to rise in the popularity stakes off the back of them.Robert Kimbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11581252229039424449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789853048889996288.post-4682601932500262392011-10-29T23:10:50.486+13:002011-10-29T23:10:50.486+13:00Did you see the party campaign opening speeches/vi...Did you see the party campaign opening speeches/videos? Labour had the best one, by far, Nats the worst, also by far.<br /><br />250,000 watchers. Could make a difference?Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17266178582249363015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789853048889996288.post-35547954998077593602011-10-28T20:59:12.519+13:002011-10-28T20:59:12.519+13:00I have to take issue with some of this. For one th...I have to take issue with some of this. For one thing, Labour has a very strong policy base (whether or not you agree with them), whereas National's a bit empty in that regard. Big on ideology, but actual policy? Pretty weak, really. And their performance while in office this term has been atrocious. So many missed opportunities, so much extra debt. Your characterisation of Labour as being all about GST on veggies and minimum wage is simplistic.The retirement age discussion today is just one area where there has been realistic policy - a little timid, being 20 years out, but much more sensible than National. (John Ky's response that this was Labour's way of compensating for present expensive policies is a total nonsense, and I'm amazed he wasn't called on it).<br /><br />It's also a little unfair to compare Phil to Jeanette - by her standards almost all of them look unrefined. I'd certainly agree we need more like her - yet the Greens are regularly reviled in the mainstream. Phil vs Ky - not so big a gap, just different constituencies.<br /><br />Also, the Carter dismissal was hardly about a criticism of leadership style: it was in fact some long-overdue accountability being applied in response to someone who epitomises the pampered entitlement culture of many MPs. Good on Phil for providing a bit of discipline - my patience would not have lasted as long, that's for sure.<br /><br />That Key is seen as a safe pair of hands is testimony to the political anaesthesia endemic in this fine country. Smile and wave politics at it's finest. Key is "all hui and no dui" as the expression goes. <br /><br />And Cunliffe vs English, as Finance Minister? No contest. Cunliffe as PM, though? Not so much, and I suspect he knows that,Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17266178582249363015noreply@blogger.com