WEATHER REPORT: Stormy outlook for Cunliffe.
Two days before the election, the New Zealand Herald gave space to a self-confessed Christian, John Watson, who penned an article asking who would God vote for?
Predictably, he concluded God would vote left.
Rather than arrogantly tell us God's views, Watson would have been wiser - and certainly less presumptuous - had he waited 48 hours to find out. More so, given his belief that God calls all the shots.
In the event, Watson's assumption was not merely wrong, but spectacularly so. Evidently, so strongly did God feel that he - mindful that the Labour-voting underclass, on whose behalf Watson lamented, never bother voting if the sun ain't shining - intervened and delivered nationwide stormy weather.
The underclass duly stayed away despite Matt McCarten's over-hyped abilities in getting them out. Well done, God.
Two months ago I wrote that the election was done and dusted and that David Cunliffe - the most disliked political leader in this country's history, loathed by his caucus but foisted on them by extremist elements controlling the party - was leading Labour into a terrible disaster.
I suggested caucus should change the leader then and there if they were to save their party from a catastrophic outcome.
That produced a flood of bitter abuse from their nasty bloggers, cowardly hiding behind pseudonyms, accusing me of being a die-hard National voter. I last voted National in 1981, but did so this time with gusto, although giving Trevor Mallard my candidate vote.
Serial apologiser Cunliffe should put aside his sorrow at being a man and do the manly thing, namely apologise to his battered party and resign, as convention demands. Unsurprisingly, he refuses to do either which says everything about him.
The previous day, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond honourably resigned after almost pulling off devolution, so too Kim Dotcom nobly took the rap for his costly intervention. Associating himself with the rubbish fringe elements of our political life taught Dotcom an unsurprising lesson when they hypocritically grabbed his silver then turned on him afterwards.
But behaving honourably was alien to Cunliffe who, instead, blamed the Hager sneak and Dotcom for distracting voters, ignoring the fact that he happily endorsed their nonsense at the time - plus their efforts plainly didn't distract National voters.
A party that produced the two greatest reforming 20th century governments, namely in 1935 and 1984, has now been brought to its knees by Cunliffe. He will go, even if ignobly, and thereafter Labour must re-organise their structure to take control from the minority interest factions now in the driving seat, and then pursue a new centralist liberal position.
Most of all, they should embrace the modern age and recognise that social and economic salvation and uplifting the underclass does not simplistically lie in ever increasing taxes on the industrious and thrifty and their transfer to the indolent. There's nothing positive or progressive about that.
It was a wonderful night of jubilation, rising to euphoria when the worst ratbag ever to grace Parliament, namely Hone Harawira, was excised from the public purse, inducing cheers across the land.
And for once Winston Peters' ploy of pre-election non-alignment bounced on him. Refusing to express a preference, as he triennially does, is solely because it leaves him immune from attack by the main parties during the campaign, while he can lash out at everyone with gay abandonment.
Nevertheless, he can thank Labour's collapse for allowing him another 34 months of hibernation, but never again glorified foreign travel, ministerial limousines and the other baubles of office he, like all politicians, covets. His rage at the result said it all.
Against expectations the Greens lost a seat. Their main problem is that today everyone's green which leads them to adopt unacceptable extremes.
More important, green issues should be neither left or right yet they unabashedly align themselves with the left. They're on a hiding to nothing with this association, going down when Labour sink and being swept aside when Labour are in the ascendency.
Listening to Metiria Turei explaining on National Radio a few days before the election how she and Russel Norman would become joint Deputy Prime Minister after the election, left me incredulous. She's a jolly and likeable lady but desperately out of touch.
Congratulations are due to John Campbell and Mike Hosking for giving us the most lively election night presentations in memory, with Paul Henry specially excelling among the guests.
The best line of the night belonged to TV3's grossly ill-mannered, pushy interviewer who so rudely hammered Cunliffe, but she was partially forgiven when she asked loony Laila: "Is this your Moment of Truth?"
But, most of all, congratulations are due to John Key. His likeable, everyman demeanour, cheerful outlook and genuine humility stood in clear contrast to Cunliffe's sheer awfulness.
Possibly more than any other factor, this landslide was attributable to a leadership contest.
