Which is utter tosh. The Lib Dems promised a graduate tax to pay for tuition fees, and that in all but name is exactly what we ended up with. I have no idea why they didn't defend their position better.

Because they know their position is indefensible. They betrayed the British people after making out that they were trustworthy and well meaning.

Indefensible in what sense? They delivered pretty much exactly what they said they wanted. The only difference was the name of the thing.

I love how this thread is mostly about UK politics.

I'm pretty interested in the New Zealand situation, but people keep trying to insist that UKIP is right wing when they're centre-left.

Do not engage, I repeat do NOT engage. This is a class 5 troll, engaging is a health risk. For the safety of yourselves and society at large, keep back.

I've never felt my safety was in jeopardy from engaging with you, TrPrado - even if you are class 5.

If I lived in UK I would vote for UKIP. Why are they center left?

@LeonWalrus Same ay, Im completely lost now :p

ND:

Because he’s trolling.

Don't be so sure of that. What would you say are a few central leftist precepts? Socialised healthcare, a massive (economically crippling) benefits system, ecological preservation policies, mass migration (controlled or uncontrolled)?

UKIP supports all of those policies.

Ecological preservation isn’t leftist.

Neither is mass migration.

@LW - That's because in a politics thread everyone has to pretend they know what they're talking about, and nobody knows enough about New Zealand politics to even be able to make something up.

Why would anyone give a rats ass about New Zealand politicians?

Thanks for caring enough to stop by to say you don't care.

No problem

I mean probably because it’s s thread about New Zealand? Or because New Zealand is awesome?

... and their politics are interesting... even if it has nothing particular to do with ME...

Well, imho Capt Brad shows a disgusting lack of respect for a reputed ex US navy service person for a member nation of the ANZUS alliance.

The "chips are down" in New Zealand, there's a big shortage of potatoes at the moment

you need to get better hobbies dar if you think NZ politics are interesting. try watching paint dry or japanese politics

Politics are interesting everywhere. People get enthralled with it and it gets great.

I went over the NZ election with my class in the lead-up to the vote, and I was frankly surprised that Winston went with Labour in a minority government rather than National in a majority (maybe Bill English reminded him too much of Jenny Shipley, I don't know). This is the best of all possible worlds for the Greens and the worst for the government. Confidence and supply has worked in the past, of course, but staying out of cabinet gives the Greens a lot more flexibility to openly criticize (and even reject) anything that they don't like, and it makes the government more beholden to negotiating with them in messy, public, and messily public ways.

Greens leader James Shaw named Minister of Statistics, says it's the only Ministry that counts.

Maybe the Nationals didn't want to form a coalition. They might be thinking that the best play for them is to be an obstructionist Opposition ( using the Tony Abbott Opposition playbook ) & wait for the coalition government to inevitably fail, and get an absolute majority next election... rather than risk "devaluing their brand/reputation" with a coalition. With 56 seats they are well positioned to go for a majority next election from Opposition than from a position as a "compromised government" So it's possible that the Nationals engaged in some token negotiations with Winston Peters, but refused to make any substantive concessions. Took a position of "We'll accept Winston Peters support only on our terms, because too many compromises damages us long term, and we'd be better off next election as an undamaged Opposition than a compromised/damaged government.

That's a distinct possibility, although National would have (presumably) benefited substantially from being the senior partner and could have blamed problems on having to work with NZ 1st, as a springboard to asking for a majority in 2020. The Lib Dems cratering in the UK in 2015 comes to mind (or, to a lesser degree, the SPD taking it in the shorts in Germany last month).

On the other hand, unlike Nick Clegg, Winston is enough of a character that he might have been able (or might still be able) to avoid the troubles of other junior coalition partners elsewhere who get squashed in the area of public relations by their seniors. Certainly going into opposition has been known to work well for others, so it may end up as a shrewd move.

It may also be that Labour and the Greens won't pull NZ 1st as far away from whatever its core principles are as National might have done. (I frankly confess ignorance as to exactly what NZ 1st's core principles are beyond providing Winston Peters with a party that he can be in charge of.)

Winston's core principles are whatever will get him elected. If you don't like them, he has others.

In becoming Minister of Statistics James Shaw has seized the production of means.