They want the Council to formally recognise the state of Palestine, to light up the Town Hall in the colours of Palestine on its anniversary day and set up a bullshit sister city relationship with the Palestinian capital, all of this contrary to the very strong and wise advice from the Council’s staff to desist.
All of this illustrates the greatest problem of democracy, namely participation is left to totally non-descript folk, capable people being fully engaged in commerce and the professions etc. There are some exceptions, reflected by candidates who constantly get re-elected, but the vast majority come from obscurity and duly return there.
Since Kerry Prendergast’s mayoralty a dozen years back, the capital has had four totally no-hoper one term mayors, each worse than their predecessor.
The current incumbent, Tory Whanau is certainly history. I’d heard lots of negative stories about her arrogance, but she certainly committed political suicide with her recent drunken episode in a restaurant, committing the ultimate sin of “Do you know who I am?” to a waiter and walking out without paying.
This is a global problem, never better illustrated by the world’s largest economy offering Biden and Trump as leadership options. And so, sadly the lights are going out everywhere with democracies and their replacement by authoritarian governments to varying degrees.
Enoch Powell certainly got it right with his famous “All political careers ultimately end in failure” adage.
In the interim we can hopefully look forward to more pronouncements from Tory such as ordering an immediate cease-fire in the Ukraine. She’s reminiscent of the wonderful editorial in early 1914 by a tiny West Coast newspaper, in which it issued a final warning to the Kaiser. Sadly, he chose to ignore it.
Sir Bob Jones is a renowned author, columnist , property investor, and former politician, who blogs at No Punches Pulled HERE.
Since Kerry Prendergast’s mayoralty a dozen years back, the capital has had four totally no-hoper one term mayors, each worse than their predecessor.
The current incumbent, Tory Whanau is certainly history. I’d heard lots of negative stories about her arrogance, but she certainly committed political suicide with her recent drunken episode in a restaurant, committing the ultimate sin of “Do you know who I am?” to a waiter and walking out without paying.
This is a global problem, never better illustrated by the world’s largest economy offering Biden and Trump as leadership options. And so, sadly the lights are going out everywhere with democracies and their replacement by authoritarian governments to varying degrees.
Enoch Powell certainly got it right with his famous “All political careers ultimately end in failure” adage.
In the interim we can hopefully look forward to more pronouncements from Tory such as ordering an immediate cease-fire in the Ukraine. She’s reminiscent of the wonderful editorial in early 1914 by a tiny West Coast newspaper, in which it issued a final warning to the Kaiser. Sadly, he chose to ignore it.
Sir Bob Jones is a renowned author, columnist , property investor, and former politician, who blogs at No Punches Pulled HERE.
3 comments:
In the past persons of standing put themselves forward for public service because they had genuine concern for the common interest. The fact that they were of standing implied ability and some associated means. Public service was not the best paying occupation open to them and so they were not all desperate to hang in there and so did not have to adapt to every passing fashionable obsession to survive . And persons relied on newspapers which reported in a reasonably balanced way and reached near all. There was not a warped parallel on line feed lapped up especially by the dim and distorted. Then the threat of cancellation is now just too risky for persons of standing, especially if they are associated some business. The maori system of preselecting candidates is superior. And they are immune to cancellation no matter how extreme.Indeed it grows mana. But in their case aim is not the general good but the contrary, maori uber alles, at the expense of the mere others.
Well how many Wellingtonians voted for her? We get what we deserve. Apathy begets stupidity.
Democracy on the ropes waiting for the right hook to finish it off.
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