The ins and outs of possible coalitions on the left are far more absorbing, but Alex asked for it... so here's my humble take on some of the coalition issues facing the right (and a sneaky mention of Shane Jones)
Read MorePolitics
Here we may see what Men for Stealth and Robbing must endure ...
A peripheral group of political zealots want to introduce the UK's approach to punishing burglary into NZ. Except they don't really want to do that at all.
Read MoreGreens: Everywhere they look, Peters is there
As the polls stand, all roads to a change of government lead through New Zealand First. And that makes the Greens little more than by-standers
Read MoreLabour does not need to promise a coalition with the Greens
The Greens were getting ahead of themselves with their offer to Labour to campaign as a coalition government in waiting, and Labour was right to reject the offer.
Read MoreQuestion time with Simon Bridges
The transcript of Wednesday's question time in the House is not yet available via Hansard. Fortunately, I am able to roughly recreate it below (with some possible inaccuracies, although minor in nature).
Read MoreNothing except a battle lost can be half as melancholy as a battle won
John Banks will have a full trial on the charge that he knowingly filed a false donation declaration after his 2010 Auckland mayoral election defeat. That's not that surprising.
Read MoreNational’s muddled message on economy could help Labour
Open letter to David Farrar on his erroneous Kiwiblog post re Countdown
Over at Kiwiblog David Farrar has had a crack at TV3 for the work done by the team at The Nation on the supermarket story. I lead that team and on several points Farrar is plain wrong and on other points is misleading. So here's my reply
Read MoreDoes the Labour-National gap even matter under MMP? You bet
This was going to a comment, but I thought my telling off by Ian Mackay and Richard Aston on my previous post was worth a fuller reply
Read MoreUnderlying perceptions and the Cunliffe crisis: Poll analysis
It's getting late in the day for Labour to get it together, because its problems aren't first impressions but rather go much deeper
Read MoreUnderlying perceptions and the Cunliffe crisis: Poll analysis
It's getting late in the day for Labour to get it together, because its problems aren't first impressions but rather go much deeper
Read MoreClickbait: Do the Internet Party's rules breach the Electoral Act?
The Internet Party's candidate selection rules very well might breach the Electoral Act. This probably doesn't matter.
Read MoreThe Government's deficit is not like my credit card debt (this is not a blog about Dotcom)
The economy, thank God, does not resemble my household budget.
Still, National will tell us they have the books in order because they’ve listened to our grandparents' voice of reason: ‘don’t spend more than you earn, and if you get into debt, spend less and save more. Batten down the hatches and wait for the recession to pass.’
How the left could still win
I wrote a column in the National Business Review this weekend, and it’s driving right-wingers there nuts.
NZ First conundrum - the road more or less travelled
New Zealand First, we know, could go either way. And this weekend we learnt a little more about what Peters and his crew will be considering if they end up as the pivot party
Read MoreWhy the Crimean border matters to New Zealand
There’s been a nasty dose of ‘border relativism' in the debate about Crimea and it misses the point; you can’t have a referendum at the point of a gun, doesn’t matter what history says.
Read MoreThe Reserve Bank Act - time for a review
This year marks 25 years since the Reserve Bank Act 1989 was passed. While it has enjoyed a high degree of cross-party support over that period, the original settlement is unwinding and it is now time for a review. That need not involve throwing the anti-inflation baby out with the bathwater, nor the politicisation of a significant public institution.
Read MoreThe takeaway from Judith's Chinese dinner
While Judith Collins was in China, she perhaps should have read some Sun Tzu: “If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.”
Read MoreCollins & Cunliffe – how to win friends & influence people
Perception matters immensely when it comes to politics, but reality matters even more. So let's talk about realities
Read MoreThe left missed a chance to score today
The announcement of the election date was an opportunity for the left to define the campaign. It can’t afford any more missed opportunities.
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