Fifty lucky New Zealanders were invited to Beijing to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the brutal, murderous, evil, and oppressive reign of the Communist Party of China. Among then was spy-turned-politician Jian Yang.
And I'm not just talking about the latest poll. While Monday's poll does bolster my arguments it doesn't change anything. Even if National and Labour's fortunes were reversed, the right still wouldn't have a path to victory. Allow me to explain.
After Ireland voted to change their abortion laws, the death lobby in New Zealand got all excited and decided to push for more dead babies over here too, with Jacinda announcing that might happen next year. The hapless Simon Bridges had to go on Red Radio and TVNZ to stick his foot in his mouth.
The latest poll provides some interesting insights into just what is going on in the political arena. While polls at this stage don't translate into actual results, they do show us just what is working and what isn't.
The budget news is largely uninteresting: a few key promises have been delayed, funding for all kinds of the usual things are up, and unlike most of National's budgets, this one at least appears to be balanced. There is one funny bit though.
On his first day as National Party leader, when confronted by a media inquisition, Bridges recanted his stance on gay "marriage". Hang on a minute: he wasn't actually asked about it. He just volunteered that information out of the blue.
The resignation of Bill English as leader of the New Zealand National Party has triggered the first open leadership contest in the party since 2001, when English was elected for his first stint as party leader. The resignation has also resulted in this writer being forced to temporarily suspend his ...
I don't believe in kicking people when they're down, which I why I feel bad criticising the New Zealand Labour Party - who as we all know are mortally wounded.
