Events of the last couple of weeks in politics have certainly been a bit bizarre; allegations of bullying made against MPs in both major parties and the subsequent fallout have dominated the news, giving the rest of us hours of entertainment as chickens come home to roost.
At one time or another I have met every National MP elected between 1987 and 2017 with the exception of Rob Muldoon. I don’t know any of the Tory new chums who first entered parliament in 2020, although my dearly beloved apparently knows Mooney and Grigg. The only National MP I’ve met whom I didn’t like (and taking an instant dislike to people is very much ‘out of character’ for me) was Richard Worth: his extraordinary behaviour – putting on airs and graces – was simply embarrassing, although commonplace amongst Aucklanders who know they are ‘interlopers’.
MPs engaging in bullying behaviour is hardly a new phenomenon. The funniest example I witnessed was at an election meeting. A National MP called Ian Revell was standing in for the actual candidate and wasn’t standing for any [excrement] from the parade of seven or eight left-winger nutter candidates whining about poverty, cuts to welfare payments and other measures. Revell had consumed a couple of refreshments [surely it was ‘orange juice’?] before the meeting and was in fine form.
He kept making insulting and snide comments towards the other candidates on the podium, resulting in an endless series of Mr Chairman! Mr Chairman! He’s being mean to me!! from the infantile parade of left-wing crybabies. It was hilarious to watch for the audience and even the Labour MP in attendance to support their candidate couldn’t help bursting out laughing at the antics on stage.
What intrigues me about the recent and ongoing palaver is the rather seamless way several events have occurred, the damage incurred and the questions which spring to mind. The timeline goes something like this:
- An obscure Tory MP has something from his past dragged up in the media.
- It is literally a three-day story, albeit handled rather clumsily by Luxon and others.
- He is suspended and an internal investigation initiated.
- Then, by magic, another obscure MP writes an article in the NZ Herald alleging bullying.
- Ardern proceeds to score a couple of ‘own goals’ in quick succession.
- The biggest own goal being the Monday meeting, sans Mr Sharma.
- Further details emerge, including claims the socialists try to bypass the OIA.
- Then – to my astonishment – the Ombudsman jumps into the fray.
Doesn’t this all seem a bit ‘convenient’ to you? As if it was all part of a plan (perhaps to change the PM?) – all rather carefully scripted. Does it astonish anybody else that there is a senior public servant who isn’t (ahem) ‘under control’? Who is happy to jump in and strongly criticise certain activities?
Does it surprise anyone else that a nonentity MP can – with apparent ease – get an op-ed printed in the NZ Herald, presumably approved by ‘Jacinda’s best mate’? Does anyone else find that, alone, a bit difficult to swallow?
Does anyone else get the impression we’re about to hear rather dramatic revelations? Perhaps at cabinet level? A bit of carefully scripted ‘I have sinned’ from somebody who laid a carefully ‘easy to find’ trail of naughtiness a year or so back? Thereby destroying the remaining credibility of Jacinda Ardern? Probably leading to her resignation? What exactly is going on here folks?