Last week Simon Bridges put his big boy’s undies on and went large on what he has admitted privately he was only 70% sure of: that a deal on Ihumatao was going to be sorted this week. The poor bastard didn’t realise he was being set up for a fall, and fall he did:
The Government says there won’t be a decision on Ihumatao this week.
Last week, Simon Bridges claimed he had it on ‘excellent authority’ there’d be a deal struck soon.
He claimed it would be announced this week while both Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters are out of the country.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson says Bridges is wrong.
“That’s not a surprise that Simon Bridges was wrong, as he was in this case. We’re making progress, but this is a complex situation and one where we’ve got to bare [sic] in mind the interests of Fletchers and the whenua groups, and we’ll keep working on it.”
When asked whether it’ll take ‘up to seven months’ for a decision, like Fletchers suggested in their earnings statement last week,- Robertson says it’s not “a realistic possibility”.
“Everyone involved in this scenario is frustrated by the time it’s taking. That’s because it’s complex. We put ourselves forward to broker a deal, and we’re coming to do that work.”
NewstalkZB
It isn’t a realistic possibility at all because the government’s handbrake won’t let it happen.
Bridges gambled and lost big time, and now it’s likely his snitch has been rumbled too.
What’s got me buggered is this bloke runs on his gut feelings all the time and every time he comes a gutser. He has tits for hands, and while the National party caucus sits on theirs, his mistakes are getting worse.
He went with his gut that Trevor Mallard leaked his travel expenses and he got that wrong. Then he went with his gut and a sham inquiry to set up Jami-Lee Ross and now that’s exploded all over the place. He went with his gut over online ads and has been pinged several times for misleading advertising. And now he’s gone with his gut on Ihumatao and tripped over his own feet in the process.
He’s the leader and he keeps making big calls that are fizzers or explode in his face. It wouldn’t surprise me that, with the long hot summer still in effect, there aren’t more than a few BBQs being held. The chattering classes of Wellington were certainly very vocal last week.