John Key to quit politics if National lose

National have made their first major strategic mistake for 2011 with John Key telling the media that he will go to the nation in November rather than after the Botany by-election and he has nailed his flag firmly to the mast of the National Party with his decision to quit politics if he loses...

Key says he'll quit politics if National loses the next election
Prime Minister John Key has all but confirmed that the general election will be in late November or early December and he has indicated he will leave politics if he cannot lead the country to a second term in Government.

His candour on both subjects - the election and his future - breaks the convention of Governments and Prime Ministers.

...going late is a strategic miscalculation on two grounds, the first is the simple fact that the economic upheaval and pain his deep cuts to welfare will cause will only fester and help build opposition, especially as it becomes apparent that National have nothing other than public service slash and burn when more people desperately require those public services. Let's not forget this is a Prime Minister who said, “If we cancelled welfare to 330,000 people currently on welfare, how many would starve to death? Bugger all.”

The second reason it is a strategic miscalculation is the possibility of the All Blacks losing the World Cup. If all National has is a faint hope that they will somehow be able to ride the coat tails of an All Black victory to electoral success, then that shows how little wide public support they're expecting for their privatization agenda coupled with their destruction the welfare state.

John Key's bizarre claim to toss his toys if he loses is aimed at National Party backers who don't feel he's going far enough to the right, sure the Auckland Business mafia who bank rolled Key are happy he's crippling beneficiaries and making them suffer, sure they're happy to see massive tax cuts given to them at the expense of the poor, but they want MORE. A lot more and Key's own moderation (in comparison to the rest of National) won't give them that, by threatening to quit if National lose, John Key is forcing his own supporters to get in line.

The right wing and the mainstream media who rely on the cheap telephone opinion polls are pretending that National will romp home with over 50% support, the truth is that the election will be much, much closer.