Perhaps there’s no more befitting description of Judith Collins, who seems to exemplify the nasty side of the National Party, a cutthroat side that the public doesn’t always get to hear about.
The kind of fear-based leadership that Crusher revels in doesn’t however always command loyalty from those not directly under her control, namely most voters. They simply don’t have the same fear-based response as people within her direct vicinity. The general public instead has everything to lose and nothing to gain by supporting the current National Party under Judith Collins, who is a far right politician that believes in austerity and governing with an iron boot to the throat of our hard won civil liberties.
Often modelling herself on Margaret Thatcher, but looking more like Piggy Muldoon every day, Collins is the take no prisoners kind of politician. The type of pistol-wielding, car-crushing politician you cross the street to avoid. Of course Crusher’s combative style is something that your average Joe Blogs might not even notice. However it’s a ruthless feature of Collins’ authoritarianism that former and present National Party MPs know all too well.
Last week, the NZ Herald reported:
National Party leaking: Ex MP Chris Finlayson says Todd Muller 'ritual disembowelling' a lesson to others
Asked about Judith Collins' move to force Todd Muller to resign after he was dobbed in for making unflattering comments about Harete Hipango to Newsroom, Finlayson told the NZ Herald that MPs had to learn "to stop sniping about your colleagues".
"There needs to be a bit of discipline brought to the show and if there needs to be a ritual disembowelling from time to time, then that's the way it goes.
Actually, Muller was right to inform the public about one of his colleges using the Parliamentary expense account to furnish her own houses. The only reason Muller got the chop instead of Hipango is because she’s within Collins’ inner cabal. What this shows is that if you’re loyal to Collins, then you'll get away with just about anything, including theft.
"Of course everyone talks to journalists, but if you're going to have a gripe about your colleagues say it to their faces."
"How many times do the National Party and its caucus need to be told to stop the leaking?
"Why are they so stupid that after a cataclysmic defeat in 2020, they haven't got that basic message?"
He pointed to the cases of former Rangitata MP Andrew Falloon and Upper Harbour candidate Jake Bezzant, both of whom were accused of inappropriate use of social media or texting.
If you were to critique those cases then you would have to conclude that Collins handled them very poorly. Not only must she have known that a Police investigation was being conducted into Falloon for his inappropriate behaviour, the former Minister of Police must have also been aware of Bezzant’s strange sexual proclivities prior to him being ousted.
Besides, it’s the fact that Collins still has faith in those who were embroiled in the Dirty Politics debacle, the very same people who selected numerous inappropriate candidates, that puts into question her ability to lead the National Party into the next election.
If there was ever a television program made of Crusher’s life in Parliament, perhaps it should be called knives at noon or pistols at dawn, because when Judith Collins is around, politics becomes a blood sport. In fact a litany of destroyed careers now lies in her wake, which is one of the reasons there are so many internal leaks looking to undermine her regime. National MPs are simply trying to get rid of her to save their own skins, and perhaps their party in the process.
This disunity has clearly taken a toll on National’s support base as well, so much so that Collins has now fallen behind ACT Party leader David Seymour in the most preferred Prime Minister stakes.
Unfortunately for Collins, it’s not just her venomous nature that’s turning people away either. Her proclivity to support extreme viewpoints is also a problem, and couldn’t have been better exposed when Collins recently came out in support of a well-known TERF called Rachel Stewart. She's an outspoken bigot that rightfully had her guns confiscated by the Police for making numerous death threats online.
This may have become a career defining misstep for Collins if any mainstream media outlets had actually reported on it properly, however I suspect that they also fear the consequences of telling the truth about National's current leader. Many have certainly been scrubbing their websites clean of any incriminating articles that paint Collins in an unfavourable light.
Therefore perhaps the saying, “if you can't be loved, best be feared" should be Judith Collins’ political epitaph. Because without compassion or any new policy ideas, fear really is the only thing Crusher has going for her.