Gisborne Herald
  • Gisborne Herald Home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport

Locations

  • Gisborne
  • Bay of Plenty
  • Hawke's Bay

Media

  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Gisborne Herald / Opinion

Wily campaigner one to watch as election nears

Gisborne Herald
4 Aug, 2023 09:40 AMQuick Read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

Winston Peters is once again in the headlines and it will be interesting to see how long and for what reason he stays there.

As a follower of political trends, especially in this country, I have learned that Winston has developed a canny knack of returning to the forefront of public discussion just at a time when most people had written him off. He has demonstrated political skills that few before him and since have mastered. He is indeed, after Lazurus, the most successful “comeback kid” we have ever seen.

So, perhaps unsurprisingly, it is wise not to exclude him from the coalition talks that are likely to happen post-Election Day in October.

And given yesterday’s announcement by the Act leader David Seymour that he won’t be part of a coalition that includes the Hon Winston Peters, NZ First’s part in those talks (should that party achieve the 5 percent threshold) will be of more than a little interest.

My opinion is that a scenario of that type would be of concern to all those conservative voters who have already decided to split their votes between National and Act.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It will alarm them to think that the regaining of the treasury benches may be put in jeopardy simply because of this type of bottom-line announcement by Seymour.

However, my take is that the Act leader is more likely to have already gauged the current mood of the country and has decided he can afford to dictate terms this close to the election itself. He is betting the house on a National/Act coalition gaining enough votes in order to form a government without the wily old campaigner.

I hope he’s right.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Clive Bibby

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Gisborne Herald

Gisborne Herald

'We'll keep the fire burning': Ngāti Oneone remains committed to land reclamation protest

20 Jun 05:00 PM
Gisborne Herald

Tonnes of promise: Angus Bull Week set to make millions

20 Jun 12:00 AM
Gisborne Herald

Our top Premium stories this year: Special offer for Herald, Viva, Listener

19 Jun 08:11 PM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Gisborne Herald

'We'll keep the fire burning': Ngāti Oneone remains committed to land reclamation protest

'We'll keep the fire burning': Ngāti Oneone remains committed to land reclamation protest

20 Jun 05:00 PM

An online petition supporting the hapū has over 1950 signatures.

Tonnes of promise: Angus Bull Week set to make millions

Tonnes of promise: Angus Bull Week set to make millions

20 Jun 12:00 AM
Our top Premium stories this year: Special offer for Herald, Viva, Listener

Our top Premium stories this year: Special offer for Herald, Viva, Listener

19 Jun 08:11 PM
From top to bottom: Gisborne slumps to last on economic scoreboard, locals still optimistic

From top to bottom: Gisborne slumps to last on economic scoreboard, locals still optimistic

19 Jun 06:00 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Gisborne Herald
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Gisborne Herald
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP