OPINION: A message for Farmers to give to David Seymour.
Back up the truck fella. You're still polling lower than the Greens.
If you start getting all staunch on Luxon and National making ego-driven pre-election threats, you could be about to carry out the biggest shoot-yourself-in-the-foot exercise since New Zealand rugby allowed to Steve Hansen to appoint the current all-black coach.
Based on the latest polls and all things being equal, ACT will be in the next Government, and David, New Zealanders do want change, especially Farmers. Not just on carbon, climate change, emissions, water, live exports etc.
They too are sick to death of crime, gangs getting away with murder and a general wet bus ticket approach to all of the above.
But now is not the time to go all gung ho, look at me, look at me! That kind of 'I'm bigger than the game' mentality hasn't been part of your playbook, so why now?
Maybe it's because ultimately Luxon will hold all the cards and his rise in the preferred prime minister states is phenomenal to be fair. A coalition partnership is one where there's a junior partner, while the other actually runs the ship. Just ask Winston, after making Jacinda Ardern prime minister only for her to turn in less time it took her to deep fry a scoop of chips at her Morrinsville takeaway!
Speaking of Winston, who would rule out a national New Zealand-first coalition? I wouldn't!
What we need is to bring back the old Seymour, the one who wanted to rev his V8 hemi loud and hard outside Jacinda's house to protest the Ute tax.
And we don't mind a bit of dancing with the stars. David will all need a laugh. But what we don't need is 'bigger than the game'.
That's one way to guarantee no change.
