Chris Hipkins really is as politically stupid as he appears. In his infinite wisdom, he decided to have a battle of wits with Winston Peters, a battle that I might add he is singularly ill-equipped to deal with. But he went there.
The New Zealand First leader and Cabinet minister delivered his State of the Nation speech yesterday.
He took jabs at the previous government’s “race-based theory”, alluding to co-governance, “where some people’s DNA… made them somehow better than others”.
“I’ve seen that sort of philosophy before. I saw it in Nazi Germany, we all did,” he told an approving crowd.
In response, Hipkins said: “Kiwis deserve better than a deputy prime minister who behaves like a drunk uncle at a wedding.”
Today, the war of words has continued with a tweet from Peters.
“Chris Hipkins hid behind a press release yesterday and said that he was glad he ‘ruled me out’ before the election,” he tweeted this morning. “Newsflash Chris.
“I publicly ruled out working with you and your woke Labour cronies twelve months before you stuttered the words.
“But you know that. And so do the media who have the temerity to repeat your stutter.
“PS. Your ‘drunk uncle’ comment is laughable coming from someone who would get drunk on a wine biscuit.”
Peters finished with: “Keep the press releases coming.”
1News
Now I know we already have this quote as the Sledge of the Day, but what I want to explain is the politics of this, and how utterly bad it is for Chris Hipkins.
Firstly, a leader of a major party should never engage in a tit-for-tat spat with a minor party leader. It demeans your putative superior position and brings you down to their level. Sure you can engage over significant policy ideas, but name-calling isn’t that, and Chris Hipkins called Winston Peters a “drunk uncle”.
By engaging, Hipkins looked petulant, and churlish and here comes the second part, he risked being made a fool of. This is precisely what the far more nimble-minded Winston Peters did without resorting to epithets like “drunk uncle”.
Winston’s response was humiliating for Hipkins; he was being mocked, in a blokish manner, about not being able to handle his liquor…which everyone knows Winston Peters can.
It was an oldie but a goodie sledge that Winston Peters used, and it was devastating.
Though, I think Winston Peters may have spelt whine incorrectly.
Click to view
Winston Peters had a battle of wits with an unarmed man
Cam Slater is a New Zealand-based blogger, best known for his role in Dirty Politics and publishing the Whale Oil Beef Hooked blog, which operated from 2005 until it closed in 2019. Cam blogs regularly on the BFD - where this article was sourced.
4 comments:
Such expressions in todays cancellation world may be aasociated drunk uncles, but only a very few years ago could have and did come from near anyone
it can be argued that, as aplied to Germanyitself, nazism had a greater element of democracy then co governace as planned NZ style. Germany had control by the majority advanced race with the majority culture. With the power of veto, and as at least one 5th columnist will vote with maori, then 50/50 control by a minority with a stone age minority culture was assured.
The track record of Mr Hipkins - including his frequent efforts to deceive the public - is so appalling, it is amazing that he would dare to open his mouth.
He must be totally clueless.
Cam good stuff mate. Well compared as opposed to the biased reporting against Winston.
Does anyone take chipkins seriously? However having said that I actually am hoping he remains as opposition leader so they fall further into oblivion.
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