Giving Winston the Credit...
You have to hand it to Winston Peters: it takes a helluva lot of gall for somebody who's been in the midst of more personal scandals than any other current MP to start attacking another candidate's morals.
Winston has sued, and been sued (successfully), for defamation more often than any other current MP. He has been at the centre of allegations of intoxicated shenanigans more often than any other MP. He is single-handedly responsible for the only collapse of MMP coalition government to date.
He owns no personal property of any material value, and has successfully maintained a level of secrecy around his private life better than any other public figure in New Zealand.
But when all Winston has on his opponent in Tauranga is a cranky, foul-mouthed former employee who took exception to a benign statement that Clarkson made to another colleague, and a GST reassessment that Clarkson paid in full fifteen years ago, then Winston’s clutching at straws.
Winston hasn’t come up with anything salacious: no allegations of marital infidelity, of having an affair with a staff member, of sleazy behaviour, of disloyalty towards colleagues, of managerial and political incompetence, of drunken loutishness or of inappropriate personal conduct overseas.
That’s the trouble when the local member has lived such an “exciting” life. A better plan might have been for Winston to point out that Clarkson is just too pure for Tauranga; since 1984, constituents have barely seen their local, non-resident member, but at least they have witnessed his larger-than-life activities that have entertained the nation.
11 comments:
I don't know what you're missing, Prophet.
I'm merely pointing out that Winston hasn't come up with anything juicy, or interesting. A proper sex scandal--say, of a candidate getting stopped by police late at night, with an intoxicated staff member with whom he's having an affair at the wheel--now, something like THAT would make interesting reading.
Winston should know better. He's only got four days to go--he could have come up with a really naughty allegation, even if untrue--especially if untrue--and hurled it at his opponent.
Instead, all he's got is a tax reassessment sixteen years ago, and a cranky former employee who got sacked after three weeks.
Winston should know better.
Darren,
I have indeed been enjoying the evidence at Sir Humphrey's, which do indeed point to the fact that neither Commissioner Doone, nor Robyn Johstone, were intoxicated when they were stopped.
I was not referring to that incident. I was merely stating that it would have been much more entertaining if Winston had accused an opponent of, for example, being stopped by the police with an intoxicated driver with whom s/he worked, with whom s/he was having an affair.
IP Some people take a while for the penny to drop even when you drop lots of hints I will be sad to see the old bugger go having followed his (can we call it a career) since 1978 hes always been good for a sound bite and I suspect at least some of the media will also miss having him around
gd
Winston's a very entertaining fixture in political life. But he's also very expensive to maintain.
Agree, he's an amusing guy out on the piss. But he throws a whole element of instability into government that we just don't need.
was wilson in the car the night dalziel got pinged?
I don't know, Anon. I don't engage in tittle tattle.
I'm just saying that if Winston is going to going to throw mud, then he might as well make it interesting mud.
Like, for example, that a candidate had been seen with a chick who worked with him, with whom he was having an affair, driving a car while intoxicated, with the lights off, or something.
Now that would be amusing. And Winston wouldn't even need to prove it, because the beauty of unsubstantiated allegations is that if you hurl them at your opponent four days out from the election, it doesn't matter if they're true.
Narah Seems
Anon,
If you're going to make comments on my blog, then please write in complete sentences.
Narah seems like what? And what's Narah?
that would be an interesting allegation to throw at someone. He really does know the game well doesn't he?
Agree, Darren.
There probably comes a brief moment in most politicians' lives when they suddenly see their entire careers flash before their eyes; what was, and what could have been, just an instant after having said something very stupid.
Bob Clarkson may not have had one of those insightful panic-attacks last night, but Tony Ryall obviously envisaged Clarkson's career coming to a rapid halt.
Silly as Clarkson's action was, I don't think it's enough to deliver Tauranga back to Winston.
Can only think that Winston's entire strategy in all of this is not to win back Tauranga, but to raise his own public profile and get over the 5%. Most of NZ First's supporters are pretty firmly behind Winston anyway; he's got nothing to lose by going out all-guns firing, and it might just be enough, if he throws enough mud and grabs enough attention, to come back in on the party vote alone.
True.
Winston knows his ratings go up when he gets on telly. Its all the old dears who can't hear the words but see the face and remember him through the Alzhemers.
He is going to tie it up in the courts regardless of result. Nothing like Winston and an electoral petition.
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