Derek’s now in his early 90s and lives in Spain with his second wife.
The book was of interest to me for two reasons.
First, it was a political history someone my age could relate to, in particular going back to the first National government in 1949.
For example, I remember as a 10 year old on a Sunday morning being shocked to see my father with tears in his eyes. We were listening to then Labour Prime Minister Peter Fraser’s concession speech on the radio following the overnight vote counting. For the working classes back then, the Labour Party had an almost religion-like status.
The other reason the book was of particular interest to me was the sheer nonsense Derek wrote about me, vis a vis The New Zealand Party.
Our leading historian, Professor Paul Moon has spent the last year researching and writing a history of the party, which will be published this year.
Derek writes, not once but in four separate places that I asked him to be the Party leader. What a load of cock! The Party leader was chosen by vote at its inaugural meeting of circa 500 members in the Wellington Town Hall in late 1983.
The odd thing about that is he recounts a funny incident and thus fails to see the contradiction in his leader claim.
Back in those early 80s days I had a Christchurch office and a reasonably large CBD portfolio so was down there regularly.
Once I ran across Derek and we had a few drinks together.
I told him he was wasting his time trying to overthrow Muldoon as Derek, was not a natural leader which required an X factor few people possessed.
He asked me why? “I’ll show you”, I said, “Take your glasses off and hand them to me”. He duly did this.
“That’s why you’re not a leader”, I replied. “A natural leader would have asked why and not taken them off”.
As I said, the odd thing was that he recounted that incident in his book yet persisted with the nonsense I asked him to be the leader of the NZ Party.
Additionally, he mentions several times about knowing me and my wife Jane. At the time I wasn’t married and have never had a girlfriend, let alone a wife called Jane.
And so it goes; error after error albeit of no moment now.
The odd thing was he eventually saw the light and together with Roger Douglas, founded the ACT Party, this his major accomplishment. Both he and Roger did a single three year term in Parliament but their hearts weren’t in it.
After that he drifted off abroad, initially to Australia, having set up a consultancy business. Like many he was finished with New Zealand and its politics. His consultancy activities clearly showed a lack of commercial acumen as they all evaporated.
Out the blue he wrote to me about six years back and said he was in Perth and trying to make up his mind where to live. Then late last year he again wrote saying he was now permanently settled in Madrid and had spent the last few years pressing Victoria University Press to finally publish his autobiography which he’d written.
This they’ve now done and will probably regret as it will certainly not be a best-seller.
That said, as founder of ACT, jointly with Roger Douglas, that was a meaningful accomplishment but I suspect his long absence abroad has left him oblivious to that reality.
The last chapter on how to deal with current problems are simply waffle and show how out of touch he’d become from the country of his birth.
Sir Bob Jones is a renowned author, columnist , property investor, and former politician, who blogs at No Punches Pulled HERE - where this article was sourced.
For example, I remember as a 10 year old on a Sunday morning being shocked to see my father with tears in his eyes. We were listening to then Labour Prime Minister Peter Fraser’s concession speech on the radio following the overnight vote counting. For the working classes back then, the Labour Party had an almost religion-like status.
The other reason the book was of particular interest to me was the sheer nonsense Derek wrote about me, vis a vis The New Zealand Party.
Our leading historian, Professor Paul Moon has spent the last year researching and writing a history of the party, which will be published this year.
Derek writes, not once but in four separate places that I asked him to be the Party leader. What a load of cock! The Party leader was chosen by vote at its inaugural meeting of circa 500 members in the Wellington Town Hall in late 1983.
The odd thing about that is he recounts a funny incident and thus fails to see the contradiction in his leader claim.
Back in those early 80s days I had a Christchurch office and a reasonably large CBD portfolio so was down there regularly.
Once I ran across Derek and we had a few drinks together.
I told him he was wasting his time trying to overthrow Muldoon as Derek, was not a natural leader which required an X factor few people possessed.
He asked me why? “I’ll show you”, I said, “Take your glasses off and hand them to me”. He duly did this.
“That’s why you’re not a leader”, I replied. “A natural leader would have asked why and not taken them off”.
As I said, the odd thing was that he recounted that incident in his book yet persisted with the nonsense I asked him to be the leader of the NZ Party.
Additionally, he mentions several times about knowing me and my wife Jane. At the time I wasn’t married and have never had a girlfriend, let alone a wife called Jane.
And so it goes; error after error albeit of no moment now.
The odd thing was he eventually saw the light and together with Roger Douglas, founded the ACT Party, this his major accomplishment. Both he and Roger did a single three year term in Parliament but their hearts weren’t in it.
After that he drifted off abroad, initially to Australia, having set up a consultancy business. Like many he was finished with New Zealand and its politics. His consultancy activities clearly showed a lack of commercial acumen as they all evaporated.
Out the blue he wrote to me about six years back and said he was in Perth and trying to make up his mind where to live. Then late last year he again wrote saying he was now permanently settled in Madrid and had spent the last few years pressing Victoria University Press to finally publish his autobiography which he’d written.
This they’ve now done and will probably regret as it will certainly not be a best-seller.
That said, as founder of ACT, jointly with Roger Douglas, that was a meaningful accomplishment but I suspect his long absence abroad has left him oblivious to that reality.
The last chapter on how to deal with current problems are simply waffle and show how out of touch he’d become from the country of his birth.
Sir Bob Jones is a renowned author, columnist , property investor, and former politician, who blogs at No Punches Pulled HERE - where this article was sourced.
4 comments:
The most significant fact is the decision not to reside in NZ.
Many of the politicians of the time seem very proficient at rabbitting on. Anyone hear Jenny Shipley on RNZ recently?
Hmmm, I can see this book joining another literary " masterpiece", that by Jacinda Ardern, with both being relegated to Level 5, isle 24 at the back of some University Library - which future researches ' will have to given maps so they can locate said books'.
I wonder in the future if someone, " reading History past " comes across an article of the NAZI Party Krystal Nacht (1930'S) and decide to replicate that past action with books that no longer " meet the standards of the day, then"??
I think, given the description of events....AND Quigley's very old age....that rather than deliberate deceit....his recollection maybe the result of the ' vagaries' of old age....which has a name...if only I could remember it.......
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