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6:00 am, May 11th, 2026 - 30 comments
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Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.
The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
Starmer does the "Hitler Rant". Tough but fun.
Starmer reacts to the 2026 election results
He has a marketing problem. Whichever ad agency they used oughta get ditched pronto. Bland usually works for Labour, but this here sociological analysis shows where it has failed: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/10/surge-support-greens-reform-across-england-five-key-takeaways
As regards the viability of a charisma transplant, I suggest lateral-thinking. Delegate that. Not to Gordon Brown! Someone young & vibrant. Trump is using a classic blonde & she hasn't screwed up yet, so the model does work.
Do we need to talk about TOP?
Verity Johnson: Has the Opportunity party gone from Zombie to Lazarus?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360976086/verity-johnson-has-opportunity-party-gone-zombie-lazarus
"There was dim lighting, a hip warehouse space, a DJ in an ironic knitted tank top, fresh raspberries on a snack platter, and, ah, a whiteboard. And powerpoint. For policy ideas. Whilst dancing. It was weird but it worked. Like seeing a Fiat 500 with a towbar and trailer."
Only if Lucy Lawless sees an opportunity. She may still have her battle-dress in the closet. Showing up in the tv headline news sitting next to Russell Norman was a power play that led to nothing – obviously got a whiff of leftist herding that seemed toxic.
Clearly a woman of subtlety, not just talent, since she has kept quiet about it since. As regards any zeitgeist for TOP, depends on how much collective brain death is exhibited by the other parties as we all drift into proximal voting headspace.
I love the way Verity has a clearly feminine voice to her writing with constant analogues between relationship management and political management.
Always a fun columnist to read, always sufficiently impatient with the status quo.
I'm thinking now that TOP are Peter Dunne for the hipster crowd 😆
yes we do need talk about them
That article is such a good read. In amongst the highly entertaining framing, there are things we should be pay attention to.
Maybe there aren't enough of them the worry Labour in chasing. But if they're enough to get TOP into parliament, that's a game changer.
Orwellian language use in the NZ Herald:
"Current average support for the three coalition parties is 50.2% compared to 44.9% for the opposition, a gap of 5.3 points, the research found."
(my italics)
Doing a poll of polls works OK if it's the UK or USA and there are plenty of polls even in one week, but it's nonsense in NZ, except perhaps in the last few days of an election campaign when they proliferate.
Prime Minister Chris Luxon pans NZ First, Labour for ‘dishonest’ stance on raising age for NZ Super – NZ Herald
There was a recent rogue Curia poll contained in those results.
In any event a 5-point gap with 6 months to go is far from definitive.
Luxon accidentally gives his assessment of his Government's performance:
"… it would be absolute insanity to support something that isn't meeting its objectives," he said."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/594810/fees-free-university-scheme-didn-t-achieve-any-goals-christopher-luxon-says
That sounds interestingly like a Catch 22…..
: )
It was an election ploy.
Like almost every other report on the topic, the RNZ story (in link) misses the point.
If National want to scrap it, they should campaign on doing that. Make the case. That's what elections are for.
So much political commentary is on that basis: "We know they never told the voters they'd do this, but hey, never mind, is it a good idea anyway?".
They lied. That is the story. Where is it?
Election 2023: National would keep fees-free policy, wouldn't means-test, despite reckons from candidate | Stuff
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-justice/594839/century-old-locket-lost-at-auckland-supermarket-re-united-with-its-owner
I've lost my country's century-old politics for the people, by the people. If anyone finds this curio please return, and I will lock it up safely where it can't be hammered flat or dismantled. TQ.
Ok..more anecdata. And I am sure L Prent dealt with this with a comment, quite categorically…last time.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
As I replied to Karoline _IS…..L Prent quite categorically dealt with this by comment ..last time….
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
That sounds like anecdata.
Seriously though, the difference between Karolyn and my comments and yours is that we made political points. You appear to be acting like a partisan hack, or perhaps a troll. I don’t even really know what your point is. People use personal memory of events on TS all the time. If you have a problem with that, please state it clearly.
You are under no obligation to believe me, or Karolyn, or anyone. But I note that you ignored my comment about how liberals act.
I wonder who moved..my comment? And I certainly would link L Prents comment…but past comments cant be accessed….
Ani O'Brien is a far right hate troll. Proven.
Clear enough for you?
Well, the nearest I can come to evidence is this 2019 blog post by Ani, on Medium, in which she outlines some of the verbal harassment she had been receiving on twitter, supported by a green MP.
I never followed closely, on or offline, what Ani was doing, back then, but there were some things I saw on twitter. I'm certainly not a supporter of the hit jobs she's now into.
Te Pati Maori are now just a political waste stream of the disaffected and dumb:
Rebel MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi quitting Te Pāti Māori to start own party | Stuff
Imagine the damage they would cause if they ever got in to power. Too busy fighting amongst themselves.
Sounds like you are describing the Nat/ACT/NZF horror show, Jimmy!
Imagine if they got into power!
Damage x 1000!
This is excellent news.
Kapa-Kingi will disappear into irrelevance, taking sod-all votes with her.
Calling many Maori voters dissafected and dumb is not very nice Ad and as for Jimmys comments pure scaremongering
Harden up cupcake. TPM have been falling apart for a year in public, and are now officially at war in the election. You go waste your vote if you want to.
Ta
Imho, a TOP vote is more likely to be wasted than a TPM vote – time will tell.
Of course, there's little political risk to the left in invective flung at TPM;
TPM MPs aren't going to align themselves with demonstrably anti-Māori CoC parties.
Still, you have to wonder why ostensibly lefty commentors would waste invective on TPM, when there are much more deserving targets.
Seymour didn't consider "tutae"?
Or pokepokea ai, which is suspiciously harmless, according to one timely expert.
What's a hard cupcake good for, Ad?
Are you spraying nonsense about?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018936865/critics-foam-over-frothy-poll-coverage
Maiki Sherman's coverage of polling has angered the political right for two years now.
If you want to hold moderator power to ban commenters here perhaps you might like to keep up with the political climate?
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[I’ve run out of patience with your incessant bullshit over moderation and I see absolutely no reason why we should put up with this disrespect. Last warning. Expect a long ban next time. 2 weeks this time. – weka]