Mike's Minute: National need to rule NZ First out

One of the major downsides of MMP is the mad scramble as to who might do what with who. We are entering another period where the voter turns out to be, yet again, the loser. National need to rule New Zealand First out. That's my opinion, but even if you disagree with it, they need to say something that is definitive. Say they'll either work with them or they won't. It is materially important as to how people vote. Winston Peters has used it to great advantage, several times. His line is that we can't say anything until the voters have spoken. It is one of the bigger shams going, given an individual vote, i.e yours, makes absolutely no difference to what a Government looks like, or what a deal between parties looks like. Who would have thought that in 2017 the party that came a distant second would get to be Government? Did you vote for that? Now, National can't tell you if they do a deal with ACT for example, who will be Minister of the Environment or Foreign Affairs, but they can tell you that ACT is a party they want to negotiate with. They have managed to tell us the Māori Party are not part of the plan. And yet they can't quite drum up anything specific on New Zealand First. By taking that stance they raise questions and they make it needlessly complicated. The left have been sorted and New Zealand First has ruled Labour out. So we know what the prospects are. In theory, in an MMP environment, a so-called centre party like New Zealand First should be an ongoing prospect for both sides. But by behaving the way they have over several Governments they have wrecked the theory and now look more trouble than they are worth. That is of course if they make it, which if you are a regular, you will know I don’t think they will. But for a party like National who have now worked themselves into a position of being a Government in waiting, the last thing they want to do is muddy the waters, to offer a reason to a swing voter not to vote for them, because they are equivocal on such an important matter. I am actually surprised they have not worked this out. It's not hard. Rule him out. Job done.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.