2014 GENERAL ELECTION

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

That is the old stephenberry4mp.

And he was a candidate for Auckland Mayor last year.

Now he's an ACT candidate in the general election!!   

He has a good surname for a political role - high up on the ballot paper.

Stephen Berry got quite a large number of votes in the Auckland local body election. From memory he was 3rd place.

Talking about Stephen Berry....


• Who do you have sex with? And why this may be important?

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

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[Kiwithrottlejockey]

from the HERALD on SUNDAY....

Voodoo and madness of King Winston

By PATRICK GOWER | 8:26AM - Sunday, August 31, 2014


Winston Peters is the winner of the week.
 — Photo: APN.

WELCOME to the madness of King Winston.

In Winston's World, John Key is a voodoo doll he stabs with a pin whenever he gets bored.

This week Winston Peters took a decent jab at the Prime Minister during an interview with me, accusing Judith Collins and her “bag man” of plotting to get rid of Key.

Key dismisses Peters as nutty; Collins, who resigned yesterday, calls him a liar; Peters starts talking in riddles.

Now this would all be hilarious if there wasn't such a high chance that Key was going to rely on the “nutty liar” to form a Government.

The latest 3 News-Reid Research poll shows Key could not be Prime Minister without Peters' support.

Key's campaign mantra is that National represent stable government. I would like Key to explain where a “nutty liar” fits into a stable government.

You see, Peters wasn't just making mischief — he was making real trouble for Key.

Peters told me that when Collins was riding high as a leadership contender before the Oravida scandal, the bag man approached him saying if it was untenable for him to work with Key after the election, could he work with Collins in charge?

The upshot was that Collins was prepared to roll Key if it meant getting Peters on board in a kingmaker situation.

Peters was trying to wreck things for Key, to hurt him. Peters wanted to smear Collins, embarrass Key and show National as riven by factions.

It put Key in an invidious position. Either Peters is lying, and in that case a totally unsuitable partner in Government.

Or Peters is telling the truth, and Collins is disloyal, despite everything Key has done for her.

Key hasn't really minded all the voodoo pins that Peters has been poking into him over the past three years; in fact, he often looks at Peters like a bit of a joke.

But now it is getting serious. Peters is dangerous, the voodoo pins are hurting.

Peters is driven by two things right now — firstly, utu from Key for ruling him out in 2008. And secondly, the desire for a legacy after almost 40 years in politics. And if Key needs NZ First to form a government, Peters can get both utu and the legacy at the same time. Peters will want to make Key bow to him.

A likely shopping list could be Deputy Prime Minister, blocking the sale of Lochinver Station, and a programme to buy back the sold-off assets.

Key won't want a bar of this. Expect to see Key starting to take Peters head-on in a high-stakes game of political chicken.

Key knows he is set to have something of a moral mandate as the biggest party, and that Peters is unlikely to go with a weaker Labour with the Greens (Peters has ruled out Internet Mana).

Key will want to start showing Peters — and voters — who is boss.

Peters is again the kingmaker acting like he is King. Key thinks he is the king. One thing is for sure — madness will ensue.

WINNER OF THE WEEK:

Winston Peters. Over the 5 percent threshold, and back as the centre of attention, where he's happiest.

LOSER OF THE WEEK:

Judith Collins. After weeks of speculation an email finally brings her down.

• Patrick Gower is a Herald political writer.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11316785

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

from the Sunday Star*Times....

Flip-flopping key to hold on to power

SUNDAY STAR*TIMES Editorial | 9:08AM - Sunday, 31 August 2014


FLIP FLOP: This week John Key has not much extended the olive branch as planted the whole tree
in Winston Peters' backyard. — DAVID WHITE/Fairfax NZ.

IN POLITICS, there's never much new under the sun.

However, in the lead-up to this election, something is remarkably different. John Key's new-found warmth towards Winston Peters.

There was no such embrace in February 2011. On the day Key set the date for that year's election, he emphatically ruled out working with NZ First. He went as far as to say that he would rather hand power to Labour than give his party's soul to Peters.

“He's got a very different style and it's rearward looking. I'm about tomorrow — not about yesterday,” he told reporters.

Well, tomorrow has come around. Peters is the same politician he was in 2011. Nor has he changed from 2008, when Key ruled out NZ First, driving down their vote and banishing them from Parliament.

But this week Key has not much extended the olive branch as planted the whole tree in Peters' backyard. Responding to a mid-week poll result that handed NZ First the balance of power, Key was confident Peters would offer some sort of support to a National, as the largest polling party.

His reasoning? Peters would not force a second election because voters would punish NZ First.

Which is intriguing because six days out from the last election, Key was pushing the opposite message. In a pitch to get National supporters out, he warned that anointing Peters kingmaker would see the country go back to the polls within weeks. “How can New Zealand govern itself over the next three years,” he asked, “when at any stage the whole government can be brought down by Winston Peters?”

Peters has not changed his position in the intervening three years. Key's November 2011 remarks were prompted by a television interview in which Peters said he would give neither National or Labour confidence and supply. His preference was to sit on the cross benches and vote issue by issue — the same stance stance he maintained this week in a radio interview.

Peters' popularity has received a boost because of the renewed debate on foreign ownership of land and property. Dissatisfaction over immigration and soaring house prices will deliver him enough votes to clear the 5 percent threshold. Yet, Key has condemned Labour for adopting the same scare-mongering stance on the Lochinver sale and overseas ownership of productive farmland.

The pre-election debate might have been consumed by claims about dirty “smear campaign” tactics. But this type of politics is just as tawdry. Key's camp — and no doubt Peters as it works in his favour — would shrug it off as pragmatism. Neither man is likely to let Peters' role in Judith Collins resignation get in the way of any deal. But there is nothing grubbier than a flip-flop on a principled stance taken six years ago and reconfirmed again three years later. All in the name of holding onto power.

Neither National or NZ First are likely to lose support with this cynical strategy. It will bolster Peters' faithful, who can be assured they aren't wasting their vote. And it is likely to galvanise National supporters, fearful of a hung Parliament.

The only great loss will be integrity in politics — but there was never much of that to go around in the first place.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/10443825/Flip-flopping-key-to-hold-on-to-power

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

I just got surveyed (a couple of minutes ago) by UMR Research on my political views....this is the third time in four weeks I have been polled by them.

Yet I haven't spoken to a real human being at any time during those three occasions I have been surveyed.

I has all been an automated poll every time, answering questions with the phone keypad.

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

A few weeks ago, the General Election was shaping up to be just another boring general election bullshit fest from the politicians.

Then....Nicky Hager released his Dirty Politics book, and General Election 2014 has turned into the greatest political entertainment show ever!!


Three cheers for Nicky Hager....

....Hip Hip...

...Hip Hip...

...Hip Hip...

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

   (click on the picture to read the news story)

[donquixotenz]

Suppose they have to fluke a good idea every now and then, one question is when?

https://www.national.org.nz/news/news/media-releases/detail/2014/09/07/national-to-create-two-recreational-fishing-parks 


https://www.national.org.nz/news/news/media-releases/detail/2014/09/07/national-to-create-two-recreational-fishing-parks

[donquixotenz]

from the Sunday Star*Times....

Flip-flopping key to hold on to power

SUNDAY STAR*TIMES Editorial | 9:08AM - Sunday, 31 August 2014


FLIP FLOP: This week John Key has not much extended the olive branch as planted the whole tree
in Winston Peters' backyard. — DAVID WHITE/Fairfax NZ.

IN POLITICS, there's never much new under the sun.

However, in the lead-up to this election, something is remarkably different. John Key's new-found warmth towards Winston Peters.

There was no such embrace in February 2011. On the day Key set the date for that year's election, he emphatically ruled out working with NZ First. He went as far as to say that he would rather hand power to Labour than give his party's soul to Peters.

“He's got a very different style and it's rearward looking. I'm about tomorrow — not about yesterday,” he told reporters.

Well, tomorrow has come around. Peters is the same politician he was in 2011. Nor has he changed from 2008, when Key ruled out NZ First, driving down their vote and banishing them from Parliament.

But this week Key has not much extended the olive branch as planted the whole tree in Peters' backyard. Responding to a mid-week poll result that handed NZ First the balance of power, Key was confident Peters would offer some sort of support to a National, as the largest polling party.

His reasoning? Peters would not force a second election because voters would punish NZ First.

Which is intriguing because six days out from the last election, Key was pushing the opposite message. In a pitch to get National supporters out, he warned that anointing Peters kingmaker would see the country go back to the polls within weeks. “How can New Zealand govern itself over the next three years,” he asked, “when at any stage the whole government can be brought down by Winston Peters?”

Peters has not changed his position in the intervening three years. Key's November 2011 remarks were prompted by a television interview in which Peters said he would give neither National or Labour confidence and supply. His preference was to sit on the cross benches and vote issue by issue — the same stance stance he maintained this week in a radio interview.

Peters' popularity has received a boost because of the renewed debate on foreign ownership of land and property. Dissatisfaction over immigration and soaring house prices will deliver him enough votes to clear the 5 percent threshold. Yet, Key has condemned Labour for adopting the same scare-mongering stance on the Lochinver sale and overseas ownership of productive farmland.

The pre-election debate might have been consumed by claims about dirty “smear campaign” tactics. But this type of politics is just as tawdry. Key's camp — and no doubt Peters as it works in his favour — would shrug it off as pragmatism. Neither man is likely to let Peters' role in Judith Collins resignation get in the way of any deal. But there is nothing grubbier than a flip-flop on a principled stance taken six years ago and reconfirmed again three years later. All in the name of holding onto power.

Neither National or NZ First are likely to lose support with this cynical strategy. It will bolster Peters' faithful, who can be assured they aren't wasting their vote. And it is likely to galvanise National supporters, fearful of a hung Parliament.

The only great loss will be integrity in politics — but there was never much of that to go around in the first place.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/10443825/Flip-flopping-key-to-hold-on-to-power

vote party for winnie and imho get a shite load of good shite for kiwi and I get to keep free transport on the gold card. Epsom personaly I see Christine Rankin is standing in my electorate and she is a straight shooter and even if she is from some noob party I reckon she has to be streets ahead of the last couple of clowns we have stuck in bull shit castle ........   (ツ)   

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

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[Kiwithrottlejockey]

[nitpicker1]

lol


from"How successful politicians look the part"
the faces of some of our political leaders may give them a bit of a boost at the ballot box

Body language can be taught learned and deliberately used, so close your eyes and LISTEN to their voices.   



10 Powerful Body Language Tips

By: Carol Kinsey Goman, PhD 
Last updated 6/9/2014

...1. To boost your confidence, assume a power pose
Research at Harvard and Columbia Business Schools shows that simply holding your body in expansive, “high-power” poses (leaning back with hands behind the head and feet up on a desk, or standing with legs and arms stretched wide open) for as little as two minutes stimulates higher levels of testosterone—the hormone linked to power and dominance—and lower levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. ...

more?
http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/10-Powerful-Body-Language-Tips.aspx




How successful politicians look the part


University of Auckland, Fuseworks

September 12, 2014, 10:00 am
How would a group of anonymous overseas citizens who know nothing about our politicians rate them? About the same as we do? The answer is yes - with one notable exception.

A new study recently conducted by a team of researchers from the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland shows that a sample of US citizens asked to rate our political leaders by mugshot alone think that John Key is Competent and Attractive - more so than Labour Leader David Cunliffe.

But the big surprise in the Politics of Appearance survey concerns Internet Mana Leader Laila Harre-Harre topped the survey on three out of four judging criteria: Competence, Trustworthiness and Attractiveness.

"She really stands out," says Head of the School of Psychology Professor Will Hayward. "The gap between her and the others is statistically significant so you would have to wonder what would happen if she was given the same exposure and air time as the two main party leaders."

The study does, however, reinforce John Key’s nice-guy image: he comes second to Harre on Competence and Attractiveness.

"We tend to attribute positive traits to people we find attractive and that appears to be the case here. Key stands out as being seen as more Competent and Attractive than Cunliffe and that gives him a big advantage before he has even opened his mouth," says Lecturer in Political Psychology Dr Danny Osborne.

New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters gets very mixed results in the survey: third behind Harre and Key on Competence, but he ranks at the bottom of the list for perceived Trustworthiness and Likeability.

"It is pretty interesting that he doesn’t rate particularly highly on most of the categories, yet is still viewed as highly competent; ultimately, he has the face that people can see being a political leader, even if they don’t judge him as trustworthy or likeable," Professor Hayward says.

Another candidate with mixed fortunes in the face poll is Conservative Leader Colin Craig: he gets a high rating for Attractiveness and Likeability - fourth and third respectively - but is well down the list on the Competence and Trustworthiness scale (second to bottom for both).

The survey also asked US participants to rate the candidates in the key seat of Epsom. Going on appearances alone, the news is not so good for Act candidate David Seymour. While National candidate Paul Goldsmith and Labour candidate Michael Wood are neck and neck when judged solely on appearance, Seymour is consistently rated as the least competent out of the three candidates.

Professor Hayward says research done overseas shows that judgements based on looks alone often align surprisingly closely with actual election outcomes.

"Of course voters will consider more than just how the candidates look, but we predict that Act may have a harder time winning the seat this election than in 2011, simply based on their choice of a candidate whose appearance doesn’t inspire confidence," Professor Hayward says.

Dr Osborne adds that: "Overall, the study’s real purpose is to remind us to think hard about policies because we’ll all be influenced by appearances - and so the faces of some of our political leaders may give them a bit of a boost at the ballot box. But the main thing is to get to a polling booth and exercise your democratic right - vote!"
The survey used market research tool Amazon Mechanical Turk and recruited only US citizens to rate candidates from National and Labour, as well as all of the party leaders (and co-leaders), who were running in the 2014 general election. Survey participants judged each of the candidates on a scale of 0 to 6 on four criteria: Competence, Trustworthiness, Likeability and Attractiveness.
https://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/24972092/how-successful-politicians-look-the-part/

[nitpicker1]

FACT or FICTION?


Brent Edwards, Political Editor - brent.edwards@radionz.co.nz

Updated less than a minute ago

Each week on this page, Radio New Zealand will be checking the claims made by political parties and their candidates against the facts.


http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/election-2014/252810/election-2014-fact-or-fiction

byebye4now www.radionz.co.nz