Criticism of Ardern

HDPA writes:

This whole episode has done massive damage to this government – the Prime Minister especially.

What’s become obvious today is that our Prime Minister can dance around the truth when she wants to.

This morning on Chris Lynch’s show she did a little bit of that tricky stuff

When asked: “Are you considering cutting ties with her though? Firing her?”, the Prime Minister answered: “Ah no because I think she’s paid her price.”

That was this morning, but she’d already accepted Curran’s resignation last night.

To be fair, she was asked if she would fire Curran. She said no. And that is true, she didn’t fire her, Curran resigned

 But she also said: ”I think she’s paid her price”, which was probably designed to make it sound like Curran’s job was safe.

Probably just to buy time. Just to be able to release the information when it suited her – late on a Friday afternoon when everybody’s started thinking about the weekend already.

So much for Ardern saying her Government was going to be the most open and transparent the country’s ever seen.

Hard to expect your government to do it when you can’t even, right?

It’s also made the Prime Minister look weak.

Duncan Garner agrees:

So, does Jacinda Ardern have the fear factor?

You’ve got to be kidding. She’s very different to those who have gone before. She doesn’t carry their baggage, experience or ego. She’s learning to lead. But others are less kind.

Shambolic and weak is what she is, according to National. Of course they would say that, but this time it’s hard to disagree.

Even Clare Curran got sick of waiting to be sacked and called the PM on Thursday night to pull the plug.

Doesn’t that tell you everything? Curran has been a walking and wounded target for weeks and needed to be put out of her own self-inflicted misery. That the PM couldn’t see that is worrying.

Her lack of decisiveness in dealing with Curran actually made things worse for Curran in the end. It was a lose-lose.

Who is the running the show? Well, the PM is but she defers and delegates and runs things by committee, it seems. She also looks unwilling to target NZ First MPs.

She had her chance to intervene and help gravely ill Kiwi Abby Hartley get home from Bali, she stayed hands-off.

She had her chance to be caring and compassionate but looked cold and agnostic and said Winston this is yours

She had her chance to meet the Nauru refugees, she backed away.

She had her chance to say yes, we’ll take more refugees, but she allowed Winston to win by saying over my dead body. She deferred to him. Why?

Winston won the crime debate too, by keeping the three strikes law.

He’s running the show at 7 per cent. Good bang for their buck for his voters.

It’s pretty obvious Winston has all the power and his Ministers are untouchable by Ardern.

But Jacinda Ardern needs to be more than a figurehead.

She needs to stand for something, or not stand at all.

Stand against low standards and poor performance.

But don’t stand by and be walked all over, because that’s what it looks like for our Prime Minister right now.

She needs to remind Winston her party got 37% and his party only got 7%.

Ardern must take back control. If the country wanted Winston and Shane to run things they would have voted for them. 

But the infamous lads from the North couldn’t win in their own backyard, beaten by two no-name Nats.

We’re being effectively governed by a party 93% didn’t vote for.