The Political Equivalent Of Something Superlatively Hypocritical And Bigoted

It was always perceived as a practical inevitability that Winston Peters of New Zealand First was going to end up being the kingmaker -- the man whose crucial post-election decision would determine which party would lead the government, and in turn which direction the country would take for the next few years. There was never a shade of doubt that given such a situation, he would milk it for all that it was worth to achieve maximum gain for himself; preferably a position from which he would be able to further his and his party's overbearing nationalist agenda. The observer was even relatively prepared for the event of Winston being given an influential ministerial position. However, the sheer self-important idiocy that he has exhibited since laughably taking up the role of Foreign Minister could not have been foreseen. The man really has crossed a line.

The first publically visible thing that Winston did after the announcement was made that he was to be sworn in as Foreign Minister was begin rabidly contesting the prolific claims that he had gone back on his word and betrayed his constituency by going with Labour, going as far in an interview with TVNZ as to accuse the media of lying about the nature of his decision. He claimed that the mainstream media's exhortations that he had sold out were "categorically untrue" and commanded TVNZ to "tell [the people of New Zealand] the truth for the first time, in a long time." As a part of the same interview segment, Winston held himself up as having saved New Zealanders from "a snap election in two months" with his decision to trigger the finalisation of coalition negotiations. He made a decidedly clunky attempt to assert that he had done what the public had wanted, by saying in regards to a potential snap election, "Do you want that? No, and neither do the people of this country." With all this taking place at the swearing-in ceremony at Government House, it was evident that Winston was already intent on engaging in extensive antagonism, regardless of his having successfully sealed the lucrative agreement that he was lucky to have had farcically slipped to him by Helen.

Winston was in no way seeking to cease making these same claims throughout the subsequent days. He was determined to make the New Zealand public believe that he was not in fact a traitor to his constituency and a self-interested, situationally exploitative opportunist completely bereft of electoral morals. A second tactic that he introduced with the intent of repairing the headless cardboard cutout that was his image, was to insist that Helen had effectively forced the ministerial position upon him in her desperation to scrape a government together before National could do so. It can be quite straightforwardly perceived that Helen would not do such a thing, having been admirably clear on her opinions of Winston during the past term. She has for a very long time been well aware of Winston's power-hungry motives and also of his potential danger to New Zealand politics in light of his decidedly disagreeable racism and, possibly now even worse, his sheer cunning and his inability to keep his word. Helen would not have handed the position of Foreign Minister to Winston with much willingness at all. The real case is that Winston found himself in a position where he could engage in an awful, cynical electoral blackmail of the then-caretaker prime minister to achieve the optimum position in which he could exert disruption upon the tolerant nature of this country.

That's not where it ends though. In a further attempt to assert himself as a man who is true to his word, Winston has made a request in recent days that is, in most level-headed observers' eyes, among the most heinous crimes against electoral morality that this most devious of men has ever committed. If anything, it serves to achieve the reverse to anything that Winston wished the effect would be. It is undoubtedly to the exponential detriment of his credibility, that it has emerged that, despite his ministership, Winston believes that the New Zealand First is still a part of the opposition to the government and in correlation with this farcical stance the New Zealand First deputy leader, Peter Brown, wants the party's MPs to be seated on the opposition benches next to the National Party. This is inarguably the most heinous attempt yet by Winston to establish himself as not a sell out, but a credible parliamentary individual. Fortunately, it is clearly evident that it has not worked. National, the ACT Party and the Greens have all expressed their dismay at New Zealand First's actions. The Greens of course are in a position where they are particularly outraged, as New Zealand First is requesting that the Greens sit on the government's side of Parliament despite the fact that New Zealand First prevented the Greens from actually being a part of the government. In saying that she considers New Zealand First to not really be a part of the government, but merely on a confidence and supply agreement -- thus attempting to show sympathy towards Winston's plight -- she is showing her lack of willingness to offend the coalition partner and thus her dependence on the nationalist party to maintain the government. Practically all of the electoral events that have occurred since the shape of the coalition was confirmed have been a testament to the devious nature of Winston Peters and his party, and the fact that they not only want to have their cake, but they want it to be fed to them intravenously.