Simon Bridges spanned a torrid time for the National Party

National MP Simon Bridges. Photo / Mark Mitchell, File

Editorial

EDITORIAL

The resignation of Simon Bridges this week is another reminder, as if we needed it, of how poorly the National Party has supported its talent in recent years.

Current leader Christopher Luxon tried to bring his former rival into the fold with the prestigious finance spokesman role but, ultimately, the party had already burned this Bridges.

The timeline of the Tauranga MP's rise through the ranks and into the leadership should have signalled he was worth investing in and backing through the uncharted terrain of the pandemic. Instead, the party lost its nerve and kicked the girders out from under him.

The ensuring collapses could have been soundtracked by an orchestra falling down a hill, shedding other strong MPs such as Amy Adams and Nikki Kaye, and destabilising promising leader Todd Muller.

Former National Party leader Judith Collins' effort to head off Bridges' attempted comeback to the position spoke volumes about how low the party had plumbed - and about the man himself.

Thanks to Collins' revelation we found out that Bridges had been accused of telling an off-colour and unfunny joke in the presence of a female colleague. He'd then put his hand up and admitted it, and apologised. Collins tried to resurrect the incident five years later and the manoeuvre back-fired on her.

Bridges, most of us knew, had the capacity to be awkward on occasion, and innately not funny. Sometimes he spoke like his tongue had been anaesthetised. He also knew when he was wrong and readily owned it.

That honesty is rare to see in politics and will be particularly missed.