Credit where it is due. The creation of the ‘brand’ that is John Key has been impressive. The state house “back-story”, the “just one of us” media strategy complete with beer slugging and commercial breakfast radio japes, the pragmatic, “relaxed” approach to the job.
But it seems in a few short days, under the pressure of an election campaign, much of the good work has unravelled. This morning on Firstline Duncan Garner made some very interesting observations that John Key seems to have ” lost all the character of the past in showing spontaneity”, “never seen him like this in the past, starting to see the changing face of the PM”.
Key has, as other PMs before him, assiduously worked the media, and has made them his friends. Over the last few days he has shown the worst of a ‘politician’ response to a self made political disaster, all but accusing them of having a conspiracy against him.
John Armstrong sums it up in the Herald this morning. The PM has lost control of this issue and is trapped by his tactic of referring it to the Police. But more than that his approach is running totally counter to the brand developed over the last few years
Key’s abrupt ending of his press conferences looked like the pressure is getting to him. It made him look shifty and weak
And shifty and weak is not part of the brand strategy. As they say, a week is a long time in politics.
At least John Key is standing up to the media. Phil Goff lets them push him around like anything.
The NZ public is sick of sanctimonious news reporters acting as if they defaecate flowers. I’m sure that anyone’s who’s been to a TVNZ Xmas party knows that our stars aren’t that innocent.
They attack Zac Gilford, they attack the police, they make up stories and over-hype everything. Just recently I saw a story published in Stuff about the ISS dumping its space rubbish over NZ! It’s revolting.
I could not believe how earnestly he spun the tale about police with spare time!
He is playing the autocrat role in a way that would impress Muldoon. However this thread has the right idea – Brand Key has become Brand New Key.
“I’ve got a pair of brand new roller skates
You’ve got a Brand New Key”
Singalong with Melanie Safka
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIFknAdVvNM
BTW the polls are showing little damage to National so far.
http://nz.news.yahoo.com/election/a/-/11764964/poll-shows-teapot-tape-isnt-hurting-key/
However “polling over the last five days” in a rapidly changing political environment won’t be showing the full impact of the last week.
It is still true that we have a Brand New Key now. A polarising one.
Just heard John Key claim for the umpteenth time that he is only interested in talking about “the issues that matter to New Zillanders”. How things change in a week.
Just a week ago, the thing that mattered was a photo opportunity with John Banks. It is just that he suddenly stopped talking about it …
Given the polls have shown Labour vote continuing to bleed to the Greens to a 10 year low of 26% we need to start fighting the Greens and Mana and NZF in the final week. The 2011 battle is obviously lost but we need the likes of Kelvin Davis and Stuart Nash and Carmel Sepaloni who will all be gone in 8 days at this rate. We need to shore up our support or there will be hardly any Labour left. Time for Plan B.
How to lessen the defeat. I am not normally a defeatist but the two polls tonight clearly show we are making no headway against National.
Anne, I was replying to Tracey’s post about the recession. Sorry if that wasn’t clear. Tracey notes that New Zealand’s recession started in early 2008, before the American recession starting December 2007. In fact, I believe that NZ’s GDP started shrinking in early 2008. America’s started shrinking in late 2008. If you define recession as GDP shrinking, New Zealand’s started earlier.
December 2007 may be referring to the sub-prime mortgage crisis which then lead to the recession. NZ was not so different except instead of banks lending on stupid risks it was finance companies, which started falling in 2006.
As for the Shylock reference, Anne, “former successful money traders don’t know what the word ‘principled’ means. That is why they are/were money traders.”, I think its pretty inappropriate.
May be just as well. Labour needs more time to be a strong govt. Also some of the promises made have been quite outrageous. Free laptops for example.
” Kelvin Davis and Stuart Nash and Carmel Sepaloni who will all be gone in 8 days at this rate.”
No great loss.
Unless Kiwiblog is actually down then brand Key and its supporters find it quite alright to target my computer and redirect me to a database error page because I keep questioning the sanity of right wing thinking on that blog. I suspect the site is not down because I can access it (although not log in) on my lap top… they seem only to have associated my desktop’s MAC address with comments they don’t want to hear. My right to free speech is being taken from me.
The point I made was that:
the idea that people are entitled to all that they earn is fantastic nonsense because:
1) poverty causes crime
2) no amount of brutality will prevent this, and prevention of crime caused by poverty costs
3) therefore the rich who live according to this fantastic notion (that they are entitled to the entirety of what they earn) and therefore create poverty by not redistributing their wealth therefore have to pay the costs to counter crime.
So therefore they who believe the fantastic notion are screwed; the very notion they live by causes a situation that necessitates they not retain the entirety of the what they earn. So, get over it and put the money into creating a better society rather than demanding upon a fantasy and being forced to pay to repair something that should never have been broken.
It’s not down, and I have never been able to register there to comment, notwithstanding trying many times, they never send me the validation info.
Add this to your argument Stephen. The top earners who bemoan the tax the pay seem to be doing “ok”>
“The report’s 2004 data – the latest available – reveals the richest 10 per cent collectively possess $128 billion in wealth, with median individual wealth of $255,000. In contrast, the poorest 10 per cent collectively possess $17.2b, with median individual wealth of $3200. While the richest 1 per cent held 16.4 per cent of the country’s net wealth, the poorest 50 per cent owned just 5.2 per cent. “
Has anyone seen this? For Friday viewing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D6bx8j4d-Y&feature=player_embedded
This is offensive and you are warned. last chance. Clare
Bea
“It’s official: Recession since Dec. ’07
The National Bureau of Economic Research declares what most Americans already knew: the downturn has been going on for some time.
Last Updated: December 1, 2008: 5:40 PM ET
ROAD TO RESCUE
* Home prices up for 1st time in 3 years
* New home sales: ‘Really good news’
* Wall Street: Here comes the hard part
* 7 regional banks fail
* Banker: “TARP helped avert a global calamity”
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday that the U.S. has been in a recession since December 2007, making official what most Americans have already believed about the state of the economy .”
If you put 2007 recession US into google you will find endless evidence. Hence Joyce is speaking half truths or non truths.
Tracey.
Ok, Im going to simplify it for you, as you’ve stated that you struggled with School C English Comprehension.
As you said, “pretending “they didn’t drive New Zealand into recession before the rest of the world“.
But what you don’t seem to realise is that at the same time you confirmed that NZ’s dive into recession and increased unemployment STARTED under the Labour led government.
As per your quote. ““GDP shrank 0.2 per cent in the June quarter, confirming what everyone already knew – that the country is in recession.”
You see, the reality is that multiple conclusions can be made from any fact. It all depends on how you twist it.
As for the Shylock reference, Anne, “former successful money traders don’t know what the word ‘principled’ means. That is why they are/were money traders.”, I think its pretty inappropriate.
“Shylock” never occurred to me Bea. My school days were a long time ago so don’t remember much about the character. I do remember his quote “a pound of flesh”. (I think that is what it was). As a euhemerism for ‘money grubber’, John Key is guilty. He’s ripped off plenty of people over the years to line his own pockets.
No matter what they may like to call themselves in todays world that is what they are – money traders. I won’t shy away from calling them out as such because of some fictional character in a Shakespeare play.
Oh and btw, I thought they were called ‘merchants’ in those days.
John Key making himself, his party and sadly the country an international laughing stock.
His treatment has been more generous than he would have received overseas, we can see that. And they have no vested interest to protect on the matter:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5991548/Tea-tape-frenzy-goes-global#comments
“As a euhemerism for ‘money grubber’, John Key is guilty. He’s ripped off plenty of people over the years to line his own pockets.”
Evidence Anne please, Personally offensive. Deleted. Warned. Clare
bob, I assume you are being deliberately obtuse?
Joyce quite clearly stated that he believes Labour are denying they were in charge of the first country in the world into recession. They were not, as proven here and internet wide. At best that is a Joyce half truth, which he condemns Labour on. You are creating a strawman and then strking the match. Careful, you know what happens when boys play with matche,.
Here is a question on the lips of every Labour Party voter.
Why is the NZ First Party profiting so heavily from the stuff-up by the National Party and John Key? How can votes flow so freely to a party aiming to be in Opposition.
Winston is pulling all the rabbits out of the hat, and the media are now following him around looking for more tidbits.
Given the above I suppose it is no surprise to see Phil Goff switching focus now. Labour has gained nothing from a week of embarrassment for the Government, now becoming an internationally embarrassment for our country.
It might work. Labour is in a better position to talk policy than National now. It could look heroic. Maybe the undecided voter is also undecided about the merits of the Tape case, and they may slide Labour’s way. Besides which the media and Winston Peters will be keeping the heat on the Teacups.
Just on the teacup saga, is Bradley Ambrose, Geoff Mackleys (Dangerman)cameraman from the discovery channel?
Evan because Winston is former National with right wing leanings. labour is neither.
Tracey, Winston Peters and in particular his NZ First MPs – they were excellent coalition partners for the last Labour government. It turned to custard in the end, but Winston was much more aligned with Labour as it was then, than with National especially as it is now.
Wise heads have decided that whatever damage has needed to be done to ACT, it has been done. John Key will now be seen in a more realistic light. Time to be prepared for whatever else comes along.
The golden rule is that once mistakes are made, further mistakes invariably follow.
John key is afraid of the leaking of tapes,he is afraid of his past,the leaking of 6.500 tapes showing fraudulent and corrupt behaviour of the bank he worked for when Proctor& Gamble were going to take over BT 1993-1995
He worked for Bankers Trust,here is the link for the story
http://aotearoaawiderperspective.wordpress.com
Evan, I wonder if, as Linda Clark suggests, the resurgence of Winston will turn Epsom back to Banks to keep Winston out?
Anne said:
As a euhemerism for ‘money grubber’, John Key is guilty. He’s ripped off plenty of people over the years to line his own pockets.
Thank you anne johnstone. I rest my case.
dear god please if there is anything you can learn from the contempt the public have for the media now and where our poll ratings have gone please please please don’t go down the track you did last time and go all out on Key. Follow your promise and focus on policy which is far far superior to Nationals.
the evidence of this folly was sheeted home to you in 08 and this week has backed it up, Kiwis hate this personal nonsense.
the water cooler gossip at work has lost tv3 half it’s viewers this week please don’t follow them down the toilet Mr Mallard.
Why don’t the police just wait for the outcome of the Declaratory Judgment application before they decide whether to investigate? The police don’t need to be in a hurry over this. O’Connor said himself that police are constantly prioritising, and where’s the urgency, anyway? Waiting for the outcome of the DJ application potentially saves loads of police time, then if the HC says the taping was legal Ambrose or whoever’s got the tape can release it. Easy peasy. The urgency is in getting the HC to make a ruling because of the public interest before an election, not in determining whether Ambrose broke the law.
Tracey@1.14pm – I’m afraid Labour does have right wing leanings, in a number of areas. Take it’s stance towards beneficiaries, especially those without children or people with no employment whatsoever. The CPAG case was in relation to legislation introduced by Labour. Quite disappointing, and you know what they say about the poor and how to judge a government. A lot more work needed in this area, I think.
Key has lost control of the agenda in this election much the way John Hewson did in Australia in 1993. The difference here is that the media are now driving the agenda not the leader of the Labour party as Keating did when he completely out maneuvered Hewson.
The teapot affair is a trivial affair. The so called clandestine microphone was only one of 4 clearly visible microphones recording what was a public conversation. Tv3, radion NZ and another media outlet had their well identified microphones in the pollitcians faces. You only need to look at the herald photo yesterday. It makes keys handling of this issue simply a farce.
I want to hear both parties explain policy. The key issues for me are asset sales and the commercial logic being explained by National. I want labour to explaining their stance of variable minimum wage levels for different industries. It is probably the policy that most concerns me and makes me unlikely to support the party that I have supported in the last 3 elections.
I support capital gains tax but do not support higher taxes of 39% for the so called rich. Labours handling of that tax when they had it in was grossly unfair. By not indexing the threshold it quickly became a hard tax on the middle income earning families not a tax on the very well paid.
Chris wrote
“I’m afraid Labour does have right wing leanings, in a number of areas. Take it’s stance towards beneficiaries, especially those without children or people with no employment whatsoever.”
I agree. It’s what makes National’s promised crackdown so laughable, Labour actually did it in 2007!
Fran O’Sullivan quite succinctly sums the whole tea cup saga today in her opinion piece.
Mark the following is why, provided the threshold is set right, I have no problem with taxing the top earners more
“The richest 1 per cent of the population owns three times more than the combined cash and assets of the poorest 50 per cent”
Sure, they may pay the most tax, but they also accumulate the most wealth.
Tracey – “I agree. It’s what makes National’s promised crackdown so laughable, Labour actually did it in 2007!”
Sounds like you’re proud of this.
I was simply responding to your comment that Labour did not have right-wing leanings when it’s obvious they do. You now agree that they do, which is admirable, but then go on to present Labour in a positive light for following through on announcements of right-wing welfare reform. I wouldn’t be presenting this as positive.
By the way, National has carried through with a number of major welfare reforms since 2008, all of them nasty, almost as nasty as the ones you refer to that Labour introduced in 2007.
We just got a election letter from John Key the claims are as follows:
1) Keeping Mortgage rates down…..actually floating rate just went up at National Bank and no economic growth keeps the rates down John.
2) three quarters paying workers paying 17.5% tax…laughable again we are PAYE mugs paying top rate. Not like your super rich mates with trust, tax accountant and dodges.
3) More Local Jobs and higher wages – what country is this guy prime minister of? This is an outright lie
The rest,- better public services, schools etc, better roads broad band staying strong on crime. What a load of nonsense, certainly easing congestion in New Zealand by chasing people off to OZ. Seeing the effect of National Standards on teaching ..not good as teachers put emphasis on rout learning, as for the roads you need to pay off your trucking lobby mates don’t you.
Brand Donkey more like it, because that is what we all are going to be riding as this government ride us down the road of economic ruin or run us off to Australia.
Troll warning. Trevor
We got one too. Our friends got one. Were they mailed out to every new zealander?
“Sounds like you’re proud of this.”
I have posted many times on Labour’s crackdown, MANY times. I am not proud of it and am no fan of Ruth Dyson who during this period decided that people with severe Cerebral Palsy should be re work tested. I am guessing hse had heard of a cure that no one else had. So take your assumptions Chris, and place them as delicately as you choose where there is little illumination. It’s not about winning or losing or them and us for, me it’s about a better NZ.
Latest in brand key are the Change people advertising that Key will vote to scrap MMP. In this article he says he has made reasons for his support of SM clear, but I don’t think he has. If he has given reasons its unlikely that stated would be actual.
Brand Key supports obscure and unfair electoral system now. Ture colours more apparent now than before
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6003681/Key-A-vote-for-Winston-a-vote-for-Labour
Tracey, you don’t need to get nasty – if you go back over what you said you’ll have to agree it was at best ambiguous. Firstly, you said Labour did not have “right-wing leanings”, to which I responded with examples of welfare crackdowns. You then came back agreeing with me that Labour’s welfare 2007 crackdown was in fact an example of Labour’s right-wing leanings, you said “I agree. It’s what makes National’s promised crackdown so laughable, Labour actually did it in 2007!” To me this was saying that National announces welfare crackdowns but then doesn’t follow through with them, but that at least when Labour announced their welfare crackdown in 2007 they followed through with it, which somehow means Labour has more integrity than National. This is what I took your comment to mean. If this is not what you mean, can you explain it again, please?
Good to see the police have seen sense and postponed their investigation until the outcome of Ambrose’s declaratory judgment application. If the taping’s legal (or if Ambrose didn’t break the law) we’ll know all about it “by lunchtime”. Might mean Key’s gone by lunchtime, too. Certainly ACT will be. I’m predicting the timing of the judgement’s release hence the release of the tape may well play a big part in the result on Saturday.