Latest FromJohn Armstrong on politics
![<i>John Armstrong:</i> Nats lose their political nerve over booze law](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=791)
<i>John Armstrong:</i> Nats lose their political nerve over booze law
Party politics still rule when it comes to tangling with the vested interests of the liquor and hospitality industries.
![<i>John Armstrong:</i> Harpoon waiting to prick Key's bubble](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=791)
<i>John Armstrong:</i> Harpoon waiting to prick Key's bubble
Hard decisions over the IWC threaten to end the PM's no-nuke dream run.
![<i>John Armstrong:</i> To right and left, Key support in disarray](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=791)
<i>John Armstrong:</i> To right and left, Key support in disarray
The increasingly erratic and somewhat flaky behaviour of Act and the Maori Party should give the PM some serious cause for worry, writes John Armstrong.
![<i>John Armstrong</i>: Report gives MPs licence to booze](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=791)
<i>John Armstrong</i>: Report gives MPs licence to booze
The Auditor-General's report effectively gives MPs licence to use their expenses allowance to splash out on wine for their mates at any party meeting.
![<i>John Armstrong:</i> Mining compromise? More than a possibility](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=791)
<i>John Armstrong:</i> Mining compromise? More than a possibility
"Always a possibility" is fast becoming the Prime Minister's stock reply when confronted with tricky-to-answer questions, writes John Armstrong.
![<i>John Armstrong:</i> At last, Key's Govt shows some spine](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=791)
<i>John Armstrong:</i> At last, Key's Govt shows some spine
John Armstrong writes that the backbone displayed by Brownlee and Bennett will please the National traditionalists, but we'll have to watch it bend again in election year.
![<i>John Armstrong:</i> Brownlee stews after Mallard hijacking](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=791)
<i>John Armstrong:</i> Brownlee stews after Mallard hijacking
Gerry Brownlee had to control himself in Parliament yesterday if only to avoid Labour making him even more of a laughing stock than he had already become.
![<i>John Armstrong:</i> Flip-flop on GST puts Key's credibility on line](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=791)
<i>John Armstrong:</i> Flip-flop on GST puts Key's credibility on line
It would surely have been more advisable for the Prime Minister to have been straight up and down yesterday.
![<i>John Armstrong</i>: Key's growth package just tax cuts in disguise](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=791)
<i>John Armstrong</i>: Key's growth package just tax cuts in disguise
Wait patiently for three months for the real oil in the Budget before passing judgment on the Government.
![<i>John Armstrong:</i> Key's quick march little more than a crawl](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=791)
<i>John Armstrong:</i> Key's quick march little more than a crawl
On a measure of boldness, John Key's new economic plan to Parliament scores about four out of ten.
![<i>John Armstrong:</i> Time has come for Key to break a few eggs](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=791)
<i>John Armstrong:</i> Time has come for Key to break a few eggs
The Prime Minister's dream ride is about to hit rough ground as the difficult and unpopular items on his agenda demand action.