Listening to the respective Party leaders’ reaction to the ditching of the Capital Gains Tax a while back was a depressing experience. Not one of them came close to showing real leadership. What they illustrated was that it was all about politics.
Jacinda Ardern said she still believed in it but the country did not. As Labour had tried it at three previous elections she must have known that and therefore knew she was wasting two and a half million dollars of OUR hard-earned money. She appears to be as slow a learner on these matters as she was at wrapping the fish and chips. But the reality is the Left never worry about wasting other people’s money, hence their need for a CGT.
Winston Peters knew he was never going to support it if for no other reason than his current poll numbers, (numbers he says he never believes in). He may be in his sleepy seventies but he was awake enough to make sure he wasn’t going to be the turkey voting for an early Christmas. Pity he didn’t make that clear to Jacinda at the start so that OUR money might have been saved.
Simon Bridges made it clear he was the joker in the pack by suggesting it was due to his strong leadership that the CGT was scuttled. Trying to save his skin maybe, but talking this nonsense won’t help him one iota. He also said that Ardern failed to show leadership on the issue. Well, as the saying goes, it takes one to know one.
James Shaw said you can’t win them all despite having previously made it clear that if the CGT failed they didn’t deserve to be in government. He now says he’ll be happy to be a part of any future Labour coalition.
To sum up, it was a mix of comments reflecting downright negligence, stupidity and hypocrisy. The whole sorry mess begs the question – is there a real leader out there somewhere? If so, could they please make themselves known.