The world watched their media darling fall from grace into a quagmire of speculation about what she knew when she knew it, and if she didn’t know – why didn’t she? Ardern doesn’t look good from any angle.
Nigel Haworth’s head rolled when he was caught out lying about knowledge of a serious assault, but Ardern continues to deny she knew of it until last week, tacitly admitting to the lesser(?) charge of incompetence.
“While Mr Haworth and the investigative panel maintained the complaints did not include a serious sexual assault, an email trail produced in media reports suggested otherwise – and forced his resignation.
The question of whether Ms Ardern should have also been aware is now central to her political credibility.”
UK Daily Mail
Of course, Ardern should have been made aware! It is simply not believable that she wasn’t. It is simply not believable that Haworth kept Ardern in the dark, given the party narrowly avoided a political scandal from a similar incident a year ago at the Labour Youth camp.
It is simply not believable that Ardern hasn’t read the 2017 Labour Party report about their own investigation into bullying and sexual harassment within the Labour Party or that she would not have discussed the risk to the party with Nigel Haworth.
“The Labour Council was told two years ago that there was a troubling culture of bullying, sexual harassment within the party.
A witness to the latest Labour sexual harassment investigation told the council in a late-2017 written submission that instances of sexual assault happened in the party and reporting the behaviour was extremely difficult.”
Stuff
We are expected to believe that the party leader, who was forewarned of the threat in 2017 and narrowly escaped being tarnished in 2018, was also kept in the dark in 2019? This is unbelievable, and yet Ardern expects us to believe her.
Ardern maintains Haworth didn’t tell her about the seriousness of the current incidents. You can bet your bottom dollar there’s no incriminating email trail between Ardern and Haworth; but even without the evidence, there are only two conclusions. Either Ardern’s incompetence is off the charts or she is lying.
Either way, her days are numbered.
Ardern is experiencing the reverse side of the media interest she exploited so well to promote her international profile. Vogue fashion-shoots and kindness personified were very convincing when the facts tallied with her image; but when the facts part company, it’s a media feeding-frenzy to the death.
The Daily Mail took their cue from NZ media where Ardern is fast losing admirers.
“Political commentator Duncan Garner said Ms Ardern could be forced to stand down as prime minister.
Ms Ardern has squandered a massive lead – like a racing car driver a lap ahead crashing into the side wall. I simply can’t say with certainty if Ms Ardern is going to walk away from this mass pile up,’ he wrote for Newshub.
I can’t rule out that she may be forced to resign as prime minister.’
UK Daily Mail
Its obvious Ardern is tarnished beyond repair; which brings us to our next problem, the lack of political talent to fill her boots. The most likely source, the National party, displays general disarray or disinterest in the role, with one notable exception.