CoveragePost
July 14, 2020
Source: Statement by Todd Muller – New Zealand National Party I have taken time over the weekend to reflect on my experience over the last several weeks as Leader of the Opposition. It has become clear to me that I am not the best person to be Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the New ... <a title="Election 2020 – National Party Leader Todd Muller Resigns – Statement" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/07/14/election-2020-national-party-leader-todd-muller-resigns-statement/" aria-label="Read more about Election 2020 – National Party Leader Todd Muller Resigns – Statement">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
July 10, 2020
By RNZ News Opposition National list MP Dr Jian Yang has announced his retirement from New Zealand politics and says he will not stand in the 2020 general election after three terms in the party caucus. He said politics was “demanding” and he wanted to spend more time with his family. “Accordingly, I have informed ... <a title="National MP Jian Yang, who admitted training Chinese spies, quits politics" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/07/10/national-mp-jian-yang-who-admitted-training-chinese-spies-quits-politics/" aria-label="Read more about National MP Jian Yang, who admitted training Chinese spies, quits politics">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
July 9, 2020
Editorial by Selwyn Manning. New National Party leader Todd Muller has presented his party’s vision for New Zealand as it grapples with the economic cost of the Covid-19 pandemic. But Muller’s vision was unsurprisingly National while surprisingly short on economic detail. And, after a week where sordid privacy breaches plagued the party – leaving Muller ... <a title="UPDATED: Leadership, Vision, and Combating a Machiavellian Culture – Is Todd Muller National’s Solution?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/07/09/leadership-vision-and-combating-a-machiavellian-culture-is-todd-muller-nationals-solution/" aria-label="Read more about UPDATED: Leadership, Vision, and Combating a Machiavellian Culture – Is Todd Muller National’s Solution?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 25, 2020
Editorial by Selwyn Manning. With the New Zealand General Election campaign looming, parties in the Labour-led coalition government are openly parading their differences (rather than common-ground) before the voting public. It’s a situation that can be interpreted as being typical of MMP politics. But it also causes voters to rethink its record-level support for its ... <a title="Election Campaign Looms: Is It Time For Labour To Abandon NZF?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/06/25/election-campaign-looms-is-it-time-for-labour-to-abandon-new-zealand-first/" aria-label="Read more about Election Campaign Looms: Is It Time For Labour To Abandon NZF?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
November 28, 2019
A thorn in the side of National, former MP Chester Borrows punctured his party’s “law and order week” before it even started, by framing its new crime and punishment stances as ignorant and dangerous. Appearing in the media early in the week, he painted National’s discussion document as populist, opportunist, and a knee-jerk response where ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: National’s law and order populism savaged" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/11/28/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-nationals-law-and-order-populism-savaged/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: National’s law and order populism savaged">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
August 23, 2019
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Is Simon Bridges really trying to channel Donald Trump? Or is he taking his cue from Scott Morrison? Or is he looking to emulate Boris Johnson? Whatever the inspiration, there’s been a clear change in the National Party leaders’ political positioning and tactics in recent months that suggests he’s ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Simon Bridges and National go populist" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/08/23/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-simon-bridges-and-national-go-populist/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Simon Bridges and National go populist">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
August 1, 2019
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Will New Zealand have its first Māori prime minister next year? That’s what Simon Bridges is suggesting, and despite scepticism from critics and commentators, there’s good reason to take him seriously. The National Party annual conference in the weekend went well for the party, and there are other signs ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: What are the chances of “Prime Minister Simon Bridges” in 2020?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/08/01/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-what-are-the-chances-of-prime-minister-simon-bridges-in-2020/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: What are the chances of “Prime Minister Simon Bridges” in 2020?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
July 25, 2019
The National Party heads into its annual conference in Christchurch this weekend amidst continued speculation about its leadership, whether the party can win in 2020, and questions about the ideological direction of the party. This week’s leaked opinion polling results won’t help the mood, and it won’t help Bridges’ hold on the leadership. Last month ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: What’s going on inside the National Party?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/07/25/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-whats-going-on-inside-the-national-party/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: What’s going on inside the National Party?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 21, 2019
This week might turn out to be pivotal in the National Party’s road back to Government, culminating in Prime Minister Christopher Luxon taking office in 2023 or 2026. Or it might prove to be a false start, typifying the hype that so often occurs in political commentary. Either way, the commentariat are abuzz with the ... <a title="Political Roundup: Opportunities and obstacles for National and Luxon" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/06/21/political-roundup-opportunities-and-obstacles-for-national-and-luxon/" aria-label="Read more about Political Roundup: Opportunities and obstacles for National and Luxon">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 29, 2019
The problem with scandals involving so much mystery is they naturally lead to plenty of speculation, some of which might be useful and some which might be completely wrong, or even highly-damaging. And while we are still in the midst of it all, it’s extremely difficult to sort out the useful from the damaging. For ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Intense speculation on Budget leaking and hacking" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/05/29/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-intense-speculation-on-budget-leaking-and-hacking/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Intense speculation on Budget leaking and hacking">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
April 28, 2019
Simon Bridges’ hold on the National Party leadership is still in trouble, with destabilising factors making his continued survival unlikely. I wrote about this several weeks ago, reporting that a series of gaffes and leadership mis-steps had set off a fresh round of questioning about whether Bridges can continue in the role – see: Simon Bridges’ ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Simon Bridges’ destabilised leadership" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/04/28/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-simon-bridges-destabilised-leadership/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Simon Bridges’ destabilised leadership">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 12, 2019
Political Roundup: Will National burn its Bridges? by Dr Bryce Edwards There’s no doubt about it. The latest political poll is terrible news for the National Party and Simon Bridges. The only question is whether it signals the end of Bridges’ leadership of the party. The Newshub Reid Research poll was described last night by ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Will National burn its Bridges?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/02/12/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-will-national-burn-its-bridges/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Will National burn its Bridges?">Read more</a>