Brash's short memory
Campbell Live tonight showed media questioning of Don Brash as part of today's frenzy (which I've already blogged about) and included Brash denying that National had done anything unlawful before the 2005 election.
Instead the National Leader claimed that we all knew Labour was the only party who did anything unlawful.
This is despite the fact that actually all parties in Parliament, except the Progressives, were tarred in the Auditor General's report on unlawful election spending. Yes Labour was the worst, but hardly the "only".
It also flies in the face of National's admission that they didn't pay the GST on their broadcasting spending.
Not to mention Brash's misleading statements over his relationship with the Exclusive Brethren. I note that he further repeated tonight on telly that he didn't know about the Exclusive Brethren's pamphlets ahead of time, which contradicts his statements prior to the last election on bfm.
This reinvention of history is frustrating. Somehow Brash, and by extension his party, seem to think that if they just repeat something enough we will believe them.
Regrettably I suspect they may be right.
5 comments:
So far my prediction that neither Brash or Clark will lead their parties into the next election is half correct. Brash will not survive this.
Intriging is the timing of the Hagar book. I would have thought it would be more advantagious to release it a few months out from an election (another prediction, March - April snap election)
Labour would have been better off with a vulnerable Brash as leader of the National party at election time.
Clark is almost invisible at the moment which is intriging. Building up for a grand re-entrance?
While Cullen and Mallard are playing hardball with Brash and the Stadium.
Still think Clark wont lead the Labour party at the scheduled next election (she will if a snap election happens earlier).
The glee from Labour over these emails is palpable (and rightly so) but expect the National party to really up the stakes when the new leader emerges. Clark will need to be squeeky clean.
One thing that really irritates me is the way everyone seems to buy the line that Brash is a "gentleman". Maybe he is a nice guy, i don't know, but he has been caught lying so many times that i just don't understand how anyone could view him as a moral paragon. Just because he is inept, doesnt mean he is virtuous!
The other interesting thing is how everyone seems to be accepting that Key is going to be a highly capable leader. I am yet to see anything that convince me he will have the necessary political judgment, strength, or all round knowledge. I think the jury is definitely out on him. Granted he can't be much more inept than Brash.
I remember before English took over, everyone assumed he would lead the nats to victory. Then everyone assumed Brash would, now the great right hope has been transferred to Key. As yet, i am unconvinced
seems he's gone. I didn't realize how serious this was!
Any comment.
Gerrit, your comment about the timing is an observation I think further supports the idea that Labour had no hand in this.
Clark's already faced a rather mucky airing of her laundry in recent months, and come out fine methinks. She can probably feel pretty secure that anything anyone had would have been published earlier this year in The Great Pus-letting.
But you are right about her absence. I too was wondering what she's up to, but I guess she has been overseas a fair bit in the last few weeks, with the Pacific Forum and then APEC, so maybe that's the reason?
Or maybe it is part of Labour's commitment to renewal to distribute the leadership a bit more?
Anon, I agree with you that Key is as yet an unknown quantity and hasn't showed sparks of brilliant leadership. If he wins tomorrow then I guess time will tell. He'll certainly be coming in to an unenviable situation if he wins, and imagine his lot if he loses!
(Stef, have since posted about what next now :-) )
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