I am wholly relaxed about a government of which Winston Peters is a part, not just for the reasons outlined by Peter Cresswell, but because his bite is actually rather small when compared to many of those who despise him.
For a long time, Winston Peters was the second coming of Robert Muldoon, except of course when it came down to it, Winston wasn't that interested in turning back the clock of the reforms of Roger Douglas and Ruth Richardson (except that he wasn't keen on privatisation). Despite his rhetoric, after all, central government privatised its shareholding in Auckland Airport in 1998 while Winston was in government.
He isn't an acolyte of environmentalism, in that he doesn't believe in sacrificing prosperity and wealth to engage in what is virtually nothing besides virtue signalling about climate change. In that sense, he is much less toxic than the Greens, who combine welfarism with environmentalism and the glorification of identity politics. Winston has NONE of this (although his willingness to buy votes with the elderly could be described as a form of welfarism).
So the so-called rightwing commentators who think a National-Green coalition is a good idea are demonstrating how utterly beguiled they are with the image of the Greens and ignoring the substance. Either a National-Green coalition would kneecap the Greens on principles and policies, causing them to splinter and disintegrate below the 5% threshold, or (more likely) a National-Green coalition would be led by the Greens pushing climate change, getting the baubles of railways and tramways that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars a year for many years to come in losses and continuing the slide towards identity politics that National has done nothing to reverse. Furthermore, it will encourage more welfarism.
After all, it is the National Party that is willing to sell out its principles for power (Muldoon 1975-1984 being the most egregious case study). The Greens are a party of principles and policy (the wrong ones in my view, but still).
That's why I'll be more comfortable with Winston calling the shots over National or Labour. National doesn't lead the fight against leftwing ideas or concepts touted by Labour and the Greens and their supporters, it just plays personalities and fear.
Winston may contain the growth of identity politics, he wont sign up to mindless environmentalism (even though he has policies that might feed into it) and he wont embrace welfarism on a grand scale. OR he may just get a Cabinet post and go away.
In either case it is better than the Greens driving public policy.
2 comments:
oh dear, now I totally fear Winston, since he has done such a dirty deal with, gulp, the commie Greens. Not to worry though, NZ First will be gone next time, hopefully along with the Greens, and National will come back, twice as strong and with an overwhelming mandate to govern alone, therefore making history, again.
What I do fear is all the damage done in-between, and that very strange speech Winston gave re his take on capitalism, absolutely gave me the jitters. Was he punch drunk or just having us on. So, he believes stark communism is the answer? He didn't even look or sound as he though he believed the rubbish he was spouting!! Reckon the Nats dodged a bullet this time, and oh boy, will the electorate at large punish all three parties of the Hydra, for denying NZ the govt of the people' choice come next election!! Natural justice denied, many Kiwis loathe that, made worse as the economy tanks and rabid soicalism is force fed to us. Roll on 2020, or sooner...
hi cuz, you've been busy but you need to take your pill,
love dave
Post a Comment