I guess after so long beating up our ever timid socialist Prime Minister the media would like to see some results for their efforts. However it seems Key’s popularity with the cronyist welfare addicted corporate sector and the likewise big govt dependent majority of the population at large is hard to dent.
So why not as a last ditch follow through, organise a bit of speculation on a “possible” leadership challenge. “If you write one, Audrey, I’ll wrote one too.” Yep, OK Fran, I’ll write one if you will”.
Audrey Young goes for Judith Collins. Someone has headlined her article “Former Cabinet minister could make Lazarus-like comeback.” Could she really? Audrey says
“the ponytail saga has confirmed Key’s infallibility to his hero-worshippers and made talk of his succession a little more relevant.
It was evident in his biography, John Key: Portrait of a Prime Minister, that his threshold for tolerating failure is low.
Cabinet ministers know that any one of them would have almost certainly been sacked by now if complaints about ponytail pulling had emerged about them.“
Audrey reckons the ponytail thing is far from “done and dusted”. She says it took a while for Cunliffe to resign for his gaffes, and Key will exercise the same kind of resistance.
Fran goes for Bill English. She says
“Bill English has achieved two remarkable political feats this week. The first was to loosen the handcuffs with John Key by giving the clear impression that he is finding being Prime Minister while the boss is overseas “well, easy”.
I kept reading but I couldn’t actually work out what the second achievement was. Maybe making a good job of deflecting questions on Key’s pony tail pulling in parliament. Anyway, she goes on with a bit of boilerplate National party stuff-
English is a no-nonsense and well-grounded politician. He has built a strong reputation for prudent fiscal management since he became Finance Minister as the global financial crisis was still roiling the New Zealand economy. That reputation is the envy of his counterpart in Australia, Joe Hockey, who has struggled to get political support for his own fiscal repair plan.
Hockey of course is dealing with reality while English is still in prog la la land where money grows on trees.
So there you have it. The choice of the MSM’s most respected journalists 🙂 is English or Collins?
My view is that Collins is more a change agent than Bill, so I’d prefer her. Much as I’d prefer to drink a fast acting poison rather than a slow acting one.
Fran O’Sullivan: English seems to enjoy twitching the reins
Audrey Young: If Key calls time, Collins well positioned for tilt
TrueblueNZ 
10 responses to “Media speculates on Key’s replacement”
National is in serious trouble if that is the best they have to offer up.
“He has built a strong reputation for prudent fiscal management since he became Finance Minister’
Really 7 yes count it, 7 successive budget blowouts (deficits) in a row. Not to sure how prudent it is to continuously fail to balance the books and have to borrow to cover the shortfall. Even when there is a surplus how much longer before all the debt is paid off?
As for Crusher, well, she does have bigger gonads than all the rest put together I suppose.But she is tainted with Whalegate.
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“tainted with Whalegate”
you mean “smeared by terrorist Hager and the MSM”
Only inasmuch as she didn’t take Cam’s excellent advice to declare war on unions, close down Radio/TVNZ, end welfare, charterize all the schools, close down ACC…
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““the ponytail saga has confirmed Key’s infallibility to his hero-worshippers and made talk of his succession a little more relevant…”
Surely she means has confirmed Key’s fallibility?
Don’t this mob employ sub-editors?
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Crusher??? Why not go the whole hog and suggest co-leadership (like the Gweenies) and add in Cameron Slater. Now that really would get the left choking on their vegan burgers!
To be honest the main candidates are all old timers. It is probably a good time for a younger/newer MP to step up and make a name for themselves. I could see someone like Seymour fitting that bill (obviously not him in particular since he is Act) but don’t see too many of the current Nats looking likely to fill that role.
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Hell I’d go for Cam as PM, Crusher as deputy & Minister of Police & Internal Security, with Jami-Lee Ross for “finance”, and say David Seymour as Minister for Ending Welfare.
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Blubber boy is by his own admission a dirty despicable little worm.
Nothing more than a big blowhard.
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Wow, really? This place smells like the Cameron Slater Appreciation Society this morning. Anyone who would advocate that ProgLib bag of wind for any political position clearly hasn’t been paying attention.
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Yeah but think how much it would annoy the commies? Would Cam be our Suharto? Sadly no: but he would be far better than anyone in Parliament for a start.
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For Fuck’s Sake, man, a cardboard cut-out of Elmo would be better than any of those 122 corruptocrats. My point is, why would you be advocating toppling a ProgLib like Key and replacing him with a ProgLib like Slater? On his best day, he has some of Chris Christie’s fiery rhetorical charms. But he’d be no better than Cheistie, completely out of his depth and presiding over 11 consecutive credit downgrades.
I just don’t for the life of me understand why that bag of wind has any appeal whatever to any thinking Conservative. But then, the term “thinking Conservative” doesn’t describe you, does it?
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If Cam does a Scott Walker on the state unions, that’d be a damn good start.
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