The media are all wasting column inches complaining about a so-called toxic culture in politics, which apparently has seen off Todd Muller.
He is reported to have had a breakdown after just 53 days in the top job.
Now, I’m not one to cast aspersions on people’s mental health issues, having suffered depression myself.
But for the media, without a shred of self awareness for their own role in gotcha politics, to claim it is toxic culture is farcical.
Politics is not tiddlywinks, and Muller had barely even had a tickle up.
His issues this past week are of his own making, and he has no one to blame for his demise than himself.
I said before he even became leader that he lacked the courage to do the job. I based that on his past. He pulled out of both the Tauranga selection 2008 and the Coromandel selection in 2011, before being selected unopposed in 2014 in Bay of Plenty.
Whenever he has faced opposition in politics, he’s cut and run, and now he’s done it again.
There is no room for sooks in this man’s army.
When he became leader the hallmark of his leadership was again running from a fight. He back-pedalled over a stupid hat, and caved to the woke Wombles over race-based positions in his caucus.
There hasn’t been a single day that he’s looked confident before the cameras, and he was essentially a creation of his minders.
His caucus reshuffle was handled by Nikki Kaye and Amy Adams and he has never shown any command of the troops.
After 53 days he’s basically retired hurt, while the bowler was warming up with a few throw downs to the long off fielder, and before a real ball was even bowled.
For someone who has has a lifetime ambition to be Prime Minister he has sure shown a distinct lack of match fitness for the role. He must have known what the rough and tumble of politics was like. Yet he didn’t have a plan past winning the leadership spill. Now it has literally ended in tears.
I guess we will never find out if he would have done a good job because he jacked it in after less than two months. His press statement talked about doing what was right for the party, and it is a relief he quit, but surely he must have had an inkling about his inability to tough things out 54 days ago. It beggars belief that his fragility is now a show stopper.
The wet experiment is over.
The time for kindness is also over.
National must select someone with a bit of mongrel, someone who can tell the Prime Minister that kindness won’t save anyone’s job or business.