National party election victory is a win for ACT

Like many ACT voters, I saw last night's New Zealand election result as a win, even if it means putting up with National's centre-appeasing policies. ACT's 5 seats should mitigate the anticipated silliness of those National MPs whose seats are most marginal. Ah, the joys of democracy!

It was a shame that Stephen Franks just missed out in Wellington Central. I understood his desire to switch from ACT to National during Rodney Hide's buffoon period, but an appalling list place was both a poor reward from National and a bad decision; as a list MP, his profile and personality could have turned Wellington Central into a more winnable National seat in future. Look at how Anderton and Dunne get re-elected, despite having no party. Stephen Franks is far more capable than both of them. He's too young now, but one day, he'd make a great Speaker.

Now the real hard work begins. Just getting to grips with what's really going on inside the various ministerial portfolios will no doubt take time. During 9 years of Labour, many officials stopped thinking about anything that didn't fit with Labour's ideological direction. I know how difficult it was to get other views into policy development, especially in critical areas that ministers designated no-go zones, because any sensible policy there would upset their apple cart. It will be interesting to see whether the Briefings for Incoming Ministers offer substantial alternative policy perspectives.

A seminal moment in history

There have been some enormous changes and episodes in the world during my lifetime, but few have been marked by "moments in history". I think of:

• The turning back of the Russian ships at the climax of the Cuban missile crisis;
• The assassination of John F Kennedy;
• Neil Armstrong's first step onto the surface of the Moon;
  
• The fall of the Berlin Wall;
• The election of Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa;
  
• The 9/11 attack on the World State centre.

Barack Obama's election as the first African-American president of the United States is another such moment. Being the first black president of the USA is a seminal achievement for the man and for the people of the USA. But the job to be done now has nothing to do with the colour of Obama's skin. Obama has two major tasks: to help stabilise the world's financial system, and to restore the USA to its "moral place in the world".

I'm expecting that, as a very intelligent and thoughtful man, Obama will get balanced advice and heed it. The USA won't throw over its pro-capitalism economics - it's a key part of the USA's core values. I almost certainly won't like some of Obama's economic policies and decisions, but that's not so important for me right now.

I don't mean this to sound at all cynical or snide, but I suspect that many US citizens are hoping that the election of an intellectual liberal Democrat means that the TV series "The West Wing" is about to be made real. It's often been wryly observed by bemused foreigners that the people of the USA actually believe the Hollywood myth about their country. That myth was core to the USA's international reputation, even though many knew it was inaccurate. However, the Bush regime took the world's strong support after the 9/11 attack and perverted a just cause into adventurism, cronyism, and vile abuse of power. In just a few years, it destroyed the USA's reputation for freedom, fairness and justice. The rest of the world hopes that Obama can rebuild that reputation.

Make online politics quiz compulsory!

Having enjoyed the London Mayoralty politics quiz, I'm pleased to see that the NZ national election has finally got something similar - an online quiz which measures your policy leanings, and compares them to the available political parties in the upcoming NZ election.

It will be no surprise, dear diary, that I've come out as being most aligned with ACT, despite my disagreement with some of their non-economic policies. Mrs G took the test, but she refuses to tell me her result. It clearly wasn't what she expected - she says she needs to have a lie-down to get over the shock!

A quick scan of the various NZ political blogs shows that quite a few people have been surprised by how their actual policy leanings are different from their political leanings. Maybe this test should be compulsory for all voters before going into the polling station!!

Balls and guts

After my last diary entry on intestinal fortitude, I've been introduced to a new euphemism:

Testicular fortitude.

It's already spurred ideas for other potential euphemisms, e.g. testicular misadventure, which in turn led to penile misadventure. Assuming the use of English is still taught in our secondary schools, this offers real opportunities for 4th form English lessons in boys' schools. Boys respond well to this kind of applied thinking in the classroom. Just like using calculus to calculate artillery shell trajectories.

I must try it out on my luncheon group, which includes several senior educationalists.

Tough decisions and intestinal fortitude

En Avant, commenting on the current crisis on Wall St, made the following point:

If you put off tough decisions, the problems don’t go away, the solutions only get tougher, and you risk losing everything. This is a lesson that national leaders, business leaders and the general public would do well to ponder in a broader context.

Indeed. I know several government ministers who regularly avoided correct but hard decisions to take action because it might cause some electorate pain or, conversely, caved in on good initiatives because they were scared of criticism.

NZ PM Helen Clark's refusal to sack Winston Peters, on the other hand, has required considerable guts in the face of overwhelming criticism. However, having dug herself into a deep hole, she is still avoiding the right but hard decision.

Eat my shorts, Stephen Jones

13 Sep 2008 Tri-nations championship New Zealand v. Australia in Queensland.

Wow! What a game. Excitement, drama, pace, guts, fierce intensity, and a nail biter of an end. Brilliant entertainment, and the players look liked they enjoyed it too. A titanic match - one of the greats.

Who can honestly say that the new laws have ruined the game? In the words of Bart Simpson, "Eat my shorts, Stephen Jones."

The Winston Peters affair and the final days of Helen Clark

I've deliberately held off commenting on the comeuppance of this charlatan or his dominatrix, while the story played out. There is so much media and internet commentary that I have nothing to add that's new. All I will say is that it has reinforced my increasingly cynical view about politicians. The Clark government, although its agenda was very different to mine, started out in its first and second terms with at least my respect for its principled ethical base and managerial competence. That was gradually lost as the second term progressed and hubris set in. This third term has seen venality, short-termism and self-interest take precedence. The parallels between Clark and Muldoon look all the more apt as time progresses. Clark is destroying her desired place in history - Peters is cementing his.