Labour certainly didn't waste anytime attacking National over the liquidity crisis, which has brought prestigious companies such as Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns to their knees.
Of course Michael Cullen's attack on John Key was absurd. He essentially claimed that because Key used to work for Merrill Lynch, a company which survived the 1929 Wall St crash but not this one, he isn't fit to run the country. That's a bit like saying that because a top life guard got swallowed up by a tsunami he was never much of a life guard anyway.
Apparently they were sniggering in the Koru lounge when the story went to air last night. But Cullen's barb wasn't aimed at the travelling business elite. Cullen simply put the dots out there and left it for the average person to join them.
I bet there was some talk in the pubs last night about the big banks going under in the States. About how apparently "that John Keys guy" used to work for the big money men overseas - the ones who are wrecking the economy. About someone's mate in Christchurch who lost a lot of money in a finance company.
That's why John Key's response wasn't enough. Yes, I know that he is deliberately taking the opposite approach to Labour's negative campaigning but you can't simply smile your way to victory. He brushed off Cullen's attack yesterday with a smirk and a few pithy lines about it being "pitiful" and "desperate".
What he needed to do was vigorously defend his record at Merrill Lynch; state how proud he was to have excelled there and rip into Michael Cullen for political opportunism at a time when people were losing their jobs and their livelihoods.
National appears to be punch drunk on the poll ratings and has made none of the running in the first week of the campaign. Labour has talked about banning gangs - again, it hardly stacks up after a decade in power but you can't fault the politics of it - brutally attacked National and hasn't even been put under any pressure over the Winston Peters saga.
If I were advising John Key I'd have him call a press conference today and demand the Prime Minister sack Peters on the grounds of his lawyer's farcical display in producing credibility-stretching evidence to Parliament's Privileges Committee yesterday.
Key should be claiming that Clark is among only a handful of Kiwis who actually believe that Winston Peters knew nothing of the donation from Owen Glenn.
I'd have Key in a press conference by midday today - two hours before Helen Clark has to address Grey Power in Lower Hutt.
Imagine if she was forced to cut Winston Peters loose at a Grey Power meeting? Now that'd be brave.
About Guyon
Guyon Espiner is TVNZ's political editor. He has covered politics
from the press gallery in parliament since 1998 and took over as
political editor from Mark Sainsbury in January 2006 ...
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Post new commentGeoff Keey said on 2009-08-14 @ 01:47 NZDT: Report abusive post
Guyon, I was surprised to see you citing the Government's climate change cost estimates so uncritically given the extent to which they have been discredited.
stephen6565 said on 2009-08-13 @ 22:15 NZDT: Report abusive post
Another very poor article. You are part of the fourth estate and should be asking the hard questions of the govt. Making the govt accountable is not just the oppositions job. This whole article is just rubbish 'feelings' centred around your personal political views. Stick to policy and 'news' items.
geekypolitics said on 2009-08-11 @ 19:34 NZDT: Report abusive post
Mr. Espiner has some good advice for Labour especially on the environment, but the idea that Goff should "cuddle" up to Key is appalling. It is always difficult for the opposition to take a stance on matters that are of an international nature, as the reputation of the country as a united entity is at stake. Democrats in the U.S. had the same problem with regards to the Iraq War. I'd hate to see Labour make the same mistake in the name of "solidarity behind the troops."
Andrew Nichols said on 2009-08-11 @ 14:17 NZDT: Report abusive post
"Polls in Britain showed, counter-intuitively, that support for their troop deployment increased even as casualties mounted. " You're flat wrong! Current polling in the UKs major dailies actually shows majority and growing option to Britains involvement in Obams purposeless war. Not that that's ever bothered the govt there, who in time honoured fashion enjoy perpetuating "Britains post WW2 role as the Greeks to the US Empire" (Harold McMillan 1943)
Kereama said on 2009-08-11 @ 13:39 NZDT: Report abusive post
Of course Labour need to find their direction! They lost the election and they lost touch with grassroots NZ - National did too once, and it took them years to get back on track - but they did. The point is, the "road to nowhere" isn't permanent (unless you're Winston Peters... let's hope anyway). While it may be the opposition's role to critique the Government, the media has an obligation to do so also. Let the opposition "find" themselves and focus instead on the ones that count.