Jones on Cunliffe

Sir Bob Jones writes:

Two months ago I wrote that the election was done and dusted and that David Cunliffe – the most disliked political leader in this country’s history, loathed by his caucus but foisted on them by extremist elements controlling the party – was leading Labour into a terrible disaster.

I suggested caucus should change the leader then and there if they were to save their party from a catastrophic outcome.

That produced a flood of bitter abuse from their nasty bloggers, cowardly hiding behind pseudonyms, accusing me of being a die-hard National voter. I last voted National in 1981, but did so this time with gusto, although giving Trevor Mallard my candidate vote.

Hager had the temerity to say right bloggers are attack bloggers, and ignores the left bloggers who don’t even post under their own names.

Serial apologiser Cunliffe should put aside his sorrow at being a man and do the manly thing, namely apologise to his battered party and resign, as convention demands. Unsurprisingly, he refuses to do either which says everything about him.

Never before in NZ political history have we had a leader who has so little support in his caucus, yet refusing to go.

A party that produced the two greatest reforming 20th century governments, namely in 1935 and 1984, has now been brought to its knees by Cunliffe. He will go, even if ignobly, and thereafter Labour must re-organise their structure to take control from the minority interest factions now in the driving seat, and then pursue a new centralist liberal position.

I doubt that will happen. The unions simply will not give up their new powers.

The best line of the night belonged to TV3’s grossly ill-mannered, pushy interviewer who so rudely hammered Cunliffe, but she was partially forgiven when she asked loony Laila: “Is this your Moment of Truth?”

That’s Rebecca Wright 🙂

But, most of all, congratulations are due to John Key. His likeable, everyman demeanour, cheerful outlook and genuine humility stood in clear contrast to Cunliffe’s sheer awfulness.

Possibly more than any other factor, this landslide was attributable to a leadership contest.

The winner is more humble than the loser. Says a lot.