Mike Hosking on Covid 19 coronavirus: Winston Peters confirms cracks in coalition Government

COMMENT:

The question is not whether Winston Peters is correct, because he indisputably is. The question is, what is he going to do about it?

His revelation on Newstalk ZB yesterday now tells us this Government is not the one holding us back from moving to level 1, getting doors open to a point where actual trading can be done, livings can be made - and jobs can be saved, if not created.

No, it is not the Government - it's the Labour Party. But one part of the Government.

In the revelation is the exposure of what many had suspected: a socialist type power grab designed to sure-up votes driven by fear, topped up with extraordinary amounts of money we don't have - and all delivered with the ever so slightly condescending butter wouldn't melt in my mouth style favoured by the Prime Minister, who is clearly loving her days in the debt-laden economically catastrophic sun.

Unfortunately for Peters, it's him making the revelation, and these revelations have form.

We are close to an election, he's in trouble poll-wise, and he looks at this point to be yet another victim of the MMP curse. Which is that no small party who ever properly went into government via a formal coalition has ever survived to tell the tale. So it suits his agenda to drive a headline or two.

However in this case, as much as it may suit him, he's also on the right side of history - and the economic future and wellbeing of this country is at stake.

So what does he do? How long is it before his observations turn to musing about expecting Labour to review the level 1 date, to actually bringing it forward?

How long before this back and forth gets played out daily between duelling coalition partners? How long before New Zealand First start to ponder their future in Government?

The advantage they have is that every small business in the land would agree with them.

The National Party, you will note, with a new leader and the New Zealand First door ajar, is behind them. Most regular, everyday, ordinary New Zealanders who can see this catastrophe unfolding for themselves, even if they would never contemplate voting for New Zealand First, at least can go along with the sentiment.

Every day Winston Peters makes sense, pitches the cause of the majority, isolates out Labour as obsessive on health and economically dangerous, he gets headlines, a potential
growth in support, and distance from Labour. And hopefully he does us all a massive economic service by actually getting the country open the way it should be.

As we keep saying, if a week is a long time in politics, more than 16 is an age.

Watch this space.