Brash Resigns
The resignation of Don Brash as Leader of the National Party came as no particular surprise to me, however I must admit that in some ways I’m sad to see him go, oddly enough. Although his time was definitely drawing to an end, I feel sorry for him in that his real goals were never realised. I guess for me the thing is that he’s been the National Party Leader for the time when I was most involved in NZ politics and so for better or worse, he’s the one that I associate with the National Party. I never saw eye-to-eye with his policies and I hated the fact that he rolled Bill English, but he was the leader and for that commanded some level of respect. My best wishes go to him, his family, and the party.
In other news, former Russian Spy Alexander Litvinenko has died and 160 people have been killed in car bombings in Baghdad. My prayers are with the families of all those who lost family members today, for whatever reason, wherever they may be.
politics, eh? one of the easiest ways to lose face, or limbs.
on a completely different note, i might be coming to London next Sept :o)
Politics can be a rough business. I’ve seen many leaders come and go in my time. The most surreal period was the second term of the third labour government, as internal tensions about policies and personalities lead to three differnt PMs. Unlike some of the other changes this one appears to be relatively bloodless. What it means for National and NZ remains to be seen. Labour at the moment is having its own troubles and seems to be going down the grandiose project path in the form of of a half billion dollar plus stadium for the world cup as a way of deflecting public attention from the tensions and confusion in its ranks. If Keys wins as seems likely, and if he can manage the diverse factions within National, and find suitable coalition partners we may see a different administration next election. There are a lot of ifs though in this scenario. As the Chinese curse says “may you live in interesting times”.
Hey luv,
I’m off to Thailand