GB vs GG

I think Gerry Brownlee did us a favour by highlighting the weaknesses in our constitutional conventions, but he did aim at the wrong target. It’s the PM not the GG at fault.

Lewis Holden and No Right Turn have both written good pieces on the problems with our current arrangements. Go read.

Under our current conventions the GG really has to follow the advice of the current PM, even if a caretaker (unless it is clear the PM would lose a confidence vote in the House). We rely on the PM’s integrity to respect the conventions and not for example refuse to resign office if they have lost the confidence of the house.

The problem is that Clark, like Muldoon, shows a willingness to ignore conventions which stand in the way of power. If we had a written constitution it might usefully have a clause which says the parties with MPs as Ministers form the Government. Common sense. But as the convention is not binding, Clark has trampled on it, destroyed the notion of collective responsibility and allowed a situation to develop where we have the farce of yesterday with NZ First MPs claiming they are opposition MPs (as they voted poodle like with the Government).