A National past-time - dreaming of political office in New Zealand

The New Zealand National party, the opposition party in this country look like staying there for a long, long time!

The new leader, in a string of leaders since Jenny Shipley stabbed Jim Bolger in the back and lost the Treasury benches for National after nine years, eight with Bolger as PM. New Zealand had had a gutsful of the right wing party which had become obsessed with what had become known as New Rightism and privatisation for the sake of it.

Well, the Don of the National Party has gone - before he became another Julius Caesar and was knifed in the back too! The foolish, politically naive Brash, who was a bit like Bill Clinton and couldn't keep his fly done up and his long fingers out of another man's snatch has been replaced.

But is John Key the " key to the kingdom" for National? If his keynote address ( all these puns?) is any example they will be in opposition for a total of twelve years!

He concentrated on society, claiming that an underclass exists, kids go without breakfast, others leave school without qualifications; gangs are a problem in NZ etc. Spare the bloody rod, John, your party turned a social problem into a bloody catastrophe, for god's sake. We see and hear about an underclass, drugs like methamphetamine ( known here as "P"), which is involved in every major crime or murder in this country, every night on TV.

He really showed how out of touch he was with NZ society. This millionaire who happened to be brought up by his widowed mother in a state house in Christchurch and went on to become a millionaire. A NZ dream? Hardly! During his address he spoke about NZ kids - the Samoan, the Maori, the Asian and... the Kiwi kids? You have to be white to become a "Kiwi kid"? Ask John Key - he said it and it was not taken out of context or was a misquote! What does that tell you?

I don't think Labour will have too much to worry about with Key at the National helm. Bill English may have been a different story, second time around with his Bolgeristic attributes - a big Catholic family!