Phil Goff’s position as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom is now “untenable” Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters’ office says, off the back of “deeply disappointing” comments the former Auckland mayor made regarding Donald Trump.
Asking a question of Finnish Foreign Affairs Minister Elina Valtonen at a Chatham House event in London this week, Goff said he had been re-reading a speech from former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1938 after the Munich Agreement.
“He turned to Chamberlain, he said, ‘You had the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour, yet you will have war’,” Goff said,
“President Trump has restored the bust of Churchill to the Oval Office. But do you think he really understands history?”
If Goff was not the NZ Ambassador, it would be an excellent question. I agree with his premise that Trump in appeasing Putin is actually making further wars in Europe more likely – Moldova is next I would say.
However Goff is the NZ Ambassador, and question can be seen as suggesting the NZ Government is comparing Trump to Chamberlain. Considering how massively thin-skinned Trump is to criticism, there is a non-trivial chance that Trump would hold a grudge against New Zealand for Goff’s comments – hence why Peters sacked him.
One interesting aspect is that I thought anything said at Chatham House was non-attributable. This is in fact the basis of the widely cited Chatham House Rule. So did this apply to that event? Maybe Goff thought that would allow him to ask the question. How did it become known he asked that question?
UPDATE: Looks like this event was not held under the Chatham House Rule, as it was live-streamed.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders.
3 comments:
Few are as able with language as Peters. Perhaps he sees inferences which escape mere others. Although many of Trump's generation are aware of Munich, Trump is apparently so little read it is possible he was not. Although he situation today is not analogous, Goff may have done Trump and the world a favour. (In 1938; world wars were not seen as a huge threat to civilian populations or mankind as a whole.) It is fashionable to scoff at Chamberlain but his compromise was vital to the Allies ultimate success.
As an observation, if any K One W one's are aware of - is that when D J Trump was elected as President, there is a " vibrant, orally proficient " Aussie, in Washington D.C - who doth spake about said Gent in terms of the utmost endearment, that when the Aussie media ' broke said story ' there was calls for the cricket balls, of said eloquent gent ' , to be removed - or was it for him to be removed - but The Wise & Intrepid (current) PM did spake otherwise (after much prodding by those horrible Aussie media people) - and sayed - ' he was a good man, and could stay in Washington '.
So I wonder if our Goff, took note of what had happened with said " orally proficient Aussie" and decide to " do a copy book impression" - but then found that a brick thrown by Winnie P, landed a bit harder.
Oh well P G can ' scuttle ' across to Ireland and have a relaxing Holli - with another expat Labour MP (both Helen's children)
who also, in the past, had the ability " to open said mouth and place both feet between the lips, without issue".
Happy Days.
Headline should have been "Worlds weakest joke costs bombing standup his job"
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