April 26, 2015
A Prime Minister’s abuse of personal space
A Prime Minister's abuse of personal space
MARTYN BRADBURY
On the night of the election I was stunned. After all the revelations of dirty politics, after seeing mass surveillance lies exposed, after learning that the PMs Office had colluded with the Secret Intelligence Service to smear the Leader of the Opposition months before the 2011 election I thought there was no way National could win.
I thought all of that on top of inequality, property bubbles and social infrastructure being sold off that New Zealanders would recoil from Key.
They didn't.
They rallied.
To my shock and horror, none of the revelations damaged Key. I felt like I was a stranger in a strange land with no comprehension of my fellow NZers.
Which is why the over whelming anger from the public over the revelations that Key bullied a young waitress for many months by touching her repeatedly has intrigued me so much.
I think that as a very laid back culture, we discuss big important issues casually without anger, but when it comes to the little hints, we get very angry.
Maybe mass surveillance and the ugliness of dirty politics were big issues that felt disconnected from the day to day grind of most NZers lives, and as such they tuned out the election, but when it comes to a powerful person repeatedly invading your personal space and making you feel second class, that has reverberated like nothing I've seen.
The ramifications of these actions by Key will have many months to pass before they are over.
Martyn Bradbury
Editor – TheDailyBlog.co.nz
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