Monday 3 February 2014

Quote of the Day: On politicking

“No doubt Boscawen would have been a safe pair of hands. But ACT
needs something or someone more inspiring to become relevant again.”

- John Armstrong, in “Act finally does something right

Discuss.

4 comments:

Sean Fitzpatrick said...

Doing things because they are 'safe' has never been the recipe of success in any field of human endeavor.

Mr Lineberry said...

I was just working out the electoral mathematics (psephology being a hobby of mine) -

ACT requires a mere 200 additional votes per electorate for 2 MPs; 600 additional votes for 3 MPs; 1000 for 4 MPs.

When you look at it in those terms, and coming off a low base of a piss poor 2011 election result, it doesn't seem all that difficult.
Whyte talks the talk very well so perhaps "putting the band back together" may not be too difficult (ie: getting a chunk of the 150,000 former ACT voters back to the fold).

It should also be noted that Hone is in deep trouble up north - and in even deeper trouble after Mr Key highlighted his non attendance - so if Hone loses (and short of Kelvin Davis doing a Dean Barker, he will) then it frees up a full percentage point when dividing up list seats.

What this means is that 1000 extra ACT votes per electorate would result in 5 MPs, not 4; it also means (I know this is a bit technical) that it lowers the threshold for the gap between MP number 2 and 3 by around 120 votes per electorate, but (curiously) raises it for MP 4 by around 88 votes per electorate -

MP 1 (Epsom)
MP 2 (extra 200 votes per electorate)
MP 3 (easier to obtain if Hone loses)
MP 4 (slightly more difficult to obtain)
MP 5 (extra 1000 votes per electorate should do it)

Regarding Boscawen, and not wanting to kick an "invalid" when he is down, he has quit in a girly man huff (classic autistic behaviour, according to wikipedia) on the logic that he cannot ask people to support his second or third choice.
That would be okay - except had he won he would have expected Whyte, Seymour and many other folk to...ummmm....go and ask lots of people to support their...ummmmm...errmmm....second or third choice.

paul scott said...

There is no voting power with ACT. The brand is completely dead.
ACT is a millstone round NZ Nat head
Better chance with Conservative electoral seat, or NZ Fist 5%

Angry Tory said...

Well I hope ACT does something right.

Please explain how supporting the DPB, state schools, and being proud about flushing another $20 Million of taxpayers dollars down the crapper on Maori-immersion and Creationism-immersion school is in any way right wing.

This a week after John Key just bribed the State Teachers' Unions with the best part of a billion dollars of my money - my money and the money of the 150,000 odd kiwis who actually pay any tax.

If Harawira had actually listened to Banks' last speech, he'd have given it a standing ovation, because everything Banks said is Mana Party policy.

So - on behalf of those 150,000-odd Kiwis who pay all the tax for everyone else to bludge off let's hope Whyte starts by taking aim at unions, leftists, communists, takers, and bludgers who infest NZ - and giving them a kicking they'll never forget