RICHARD PREBBLE- Interesting electorate races: Epsom
John Key was the best natural politician in my time in Parliament.
The skills that made Key a successful currency trader — the ability to react to the present — made him a formidable campaigner.
Our strengths are often our weaknesses.
If you are thinking only about next Saturday, John Key is right. Electing Paul Goldsmith in Epsom might give National another MP and save Paul from returning to writing vanity biographies for the wealthy.
But consider what Epsom has achieved.
Without Epsom returning ACT MPs, the party would not have survived the swings of politics.
National should be grateful ACT exists.
In other democracies, conservative parties increasingly depend on illiberal, anti-immigration parties of the populist right.
Epsom has given National something much better: a reliable coalition partner committed to individual freedom, personal responsibility and the rule of law.
ACT is rare: a true liberal party.
Key is thinking about next Saturday.
Epsom voters should be thinking about the elections that follow.
Richard Prebble is a former Minister and ACT Party leader who writes at I've Been Thinking
This statement does you no credit, Preb: “illiberal, anti-immigration parties of the populist right.”
People have their reasons for taking the stances that they do. Rather than writing them off with labels, you should be determining whether their stance is valid and intellectually robust.
Even well-informed political commentators who believe the West should halt all Islamic immigration and remigrate all resident Muslims to country of origin refer to Allah’s religion in terms of Islamist (or radical) Muslims and Moderate Muslims.
This underscores the extent to which Islamists—and Western liberals competing to earn their Islamic knee pads—have successfully framed public conversation around the woke bromide of “a peaceful religion hijacked by a handful of extremists.”
Put simply, naive liberals who have…
Excellent thank you Richard = short and sharp.
Meanwhile I put the hapless Nats problems particularly down to them failing to demote their "key" Non "natural politician" that is Luxon, for either of their 2 top women, as PM ie either Willis or Stanford.....
From the commentary I have seen, keeping Goldsmith out of parliament is a good thing.
Some might say he has a safe pair of hands. Apparently because he is always sitting on them.
Definitely think ahead. This election is the first of the rest to come. One mistake now could jepardise NEW ZEALAND"S future for many years.
Richard is absolutely correct with his comments.
I can agree with Epsom but not Tamaki. Tamaki could allow the left to get in.