Posts Tagged ‘John Key’
Trying to pin a ‘con artist’ tag on Teflon John Key. Yeah, good luck with that.
I heard the NZ Prime Minister John Key (right) waxing lyrical about the (according to him) ‘rort’ that was the Opposition’s Stop Asset Sales petition. If I hadn’t known better I’d have said Mr Key was a glass or two off being refused wine service himself. His response seemed a politically desperate overreaction to news […]
Matthew Hooton on John Key’s GCSB ‘recall problems’ and repeated failures to ‘come clean’
Interesting discussion on Radio NZ’s political panel with Kathryn Ryan this morning. I heard it in the car and thought I heard spin doctor Matthew Hooton suggest John Key’s ‘recall problems’ and his trail of repeated failures to ‘come clean’ has seen him lose the trust of the Press Gallery — trust he’d built up over […]
Nicky Hager on why John Key’s GCSB scandal just keeps rolling
Journalist and author Nicky Hager (The Hollow Men, Secrets and Lies, Other People’s Wars, Secret Power — last mentioned on The Paepae here) knows a thing or two about the state security/surveillance apparatus … and leaks. He was recently interviewed for a spot on Radio NZ’s Mediawatch (14 Apr 2013) on the subject of the leaked […]
Tripping over the paper trail. Spokesman says Mr Key advised cabinet about Fletcher link ‘orally’.
I remember writing a post before the last General Election, Hansard can be a real bitch, eh Mr Key? wherein I sympathised with noticed the difficulty some politicians seem to have remembering what they themselves said and how awkward that can be for them when they’re questioned about it in any detail. It’s not easy. Reporting […]
John Key addresses Parliament on his earlier misleading statement about Ian Fletcher’s appointment
Here’s the NZ prime minister John Key delivering a ‘personal explanation’ to Parliament yesterday for his misleading answer to a question about the appointment of his school friend Ian Fletcher to the job of Director of the Government Communications Security Bureau, GCSB. Well, that puts that matter to rest, doesn’t it? Ya think? (What do […]
Evoking the spectre of external threat to justify spying on your citizens
The NZ prime minister has evoked ‘Reds under the bed’ style threats to national security to justify extending the already broad powers of the nation’s spy agencies, and aiding co-operation between them. Read the paragraph below and tell me it’s not redolent of the vacuous and deceitful ‘sexed-up dossier’ that Tony Blair used to justify […]
Apropos the ‘reputation as a liar’ thing for John Key
More on the issue of the public perception (reputation) of the NZ prime minister and his veracity, here’s Otago University’s Bryce Edwards’ take on it, from TV3’s Frontline this morning: “As usual with these scandals, it’s not the so-called ‘crime’ in the first place… it’s the cover-up. It’s how the politician handles things, and he’s […]
John Key toughens up? “Forearmed is forewarned (sic), I’m going to change.”
I enjoy the rough and tumble of Radio LIVE’s duo Willie & JT. I’ve said before their ‘political hour’ is a highlight with its irreverent argy-bargy. Who can forget Willie Jackson’s rejoinder to Matthew Hooton “right wing fascist mongrels like you”? They’re an oasis. The show offers a refreshing, robust counterpoint to the earnest, often […]
John Key is getting a reputation as a liar
This, from Emmerson in the NZ Herald today is pretty sharp: The euphemisms — ‘economical with the truth’, ‘not forthcoming’, ‘selective’, ‘evasive’, ‘spin’, ‘telling porkies’ — continue to fly (like pigs?) but how long will it be before the media and others in the mainstream start to describe the New Zealand prime minister’s performance by shorter, sharper […]
Gower on ‘Teflon John’ Key
Quite a good column — readable, at least — from 3News’ Patrick Gower on the narrative that he’s been promoting lately: that NZ Prime Minister ‘Teflon John’ Key has regained his ‘vice-like grip on the centre voter’. It’s not the first time, of course, the ‘Teflon’ label has been used referring to Mr Key. But […]
Colin Craig: Getting ahead in politics by being polarising
Hmm. I’m not sure about the reliability of privately-funded political surveys (although National Party operative David Farrar may do quite well from them) but I notice this approach … The leaflet includes a survey of 2200 New Zealanders commissioned by Mr Craig which showed that 71 per cent of respondents felt MPs should consult their […]
Cycling John Key
From the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Twitter stream: @johnkeypm: I rode the Queenstown Trail today. It is part of the NZ Cycle Trail Network. http://t.co/8pg3gMgU
Everybody knows the boat is leaking …
From Dan News … VIDEO: Small error in new NZ Herald TV commercial I really like the new TV commercials for the New Zealand Herald. One small problem though. In 1981…. and this … (With apologies to Leonard Cohen.)
I guess it’s too late for Mr Key to complain to the Advertising Standards Authority …
Sorting out some pix from the General Election campaign this afternoon, and found … remember this?: “A vote for me helps John Key” Oh boy. – P
An apology unlikely to pull the sting
There’s no need for me to dwell on this disgrace. There’s plenty of coverage.* “Of course I apologize to Mr Dotcom. I apologize to New Zealanders …” — Prime Minister John Key (MP3 file here) Sometimes being the Minister in charge of the ‘intelligence’ services is a real let-down. I doubt that Mr Key is […]
