What happened Wednesday

Business / news

A review of things you need to know before you sign off on Wednesday; inflation stays very high but bank analysts talk it down, credit card use weak, FMA issues scam alert, swaps firm, NZD holds, & more

25th Jan 23, 3:59pm by David Chaston

Here are the key things you need to know before you leave work today (or if you already work from home, before you shutdown your laptop).

MORTGAGE RATE CHANGES
Heartland Bank reduced its 2 year fixed rate to 5.99%, and that is notable because all their home loan rates are now below 6% (including their floating rate).

TERM DEPOSIT RATE CHANGES
None today here either. But we are expecting at least one big bank to make changes tomorrow.

NO LET-UP AS INFLATION PLATEAUS HIGH
The big story today was the Q4-2022 consumer price inflation data, which basically came in unchanged from Q3, at 7.2%. Non-tradable inflation is running at 6.5%. Bank analysts saw signs that inflation may have peaked and all said so loudly, pushing the narrative that the RBNZ should ease off their indicated +75 bps February hike. Banks don't enjoy the adjustment of a slower economy that high interest rates are inducing especially in the housing market. But in fact this data reveals inflation way higher than the RBNZ policy target, and with little actual concrete evidence it will retreat to that level any time soon. Remember, food price inflation ran at 10.7% in the quarter. Having said all that, financial markets are betting rates will ease from here. (See below.)

CREDIT CARD USE WEAKER
Credit card spending in December was weak. In fact it came in fractionally below the December 2021 levels, so a 'real' fall. For all of 2022, this spending rose +7.2%. So the December levels are a fast falling away.

CREDIT CARD BALANCES UP
But credit card balances are rising and were up +3.1% from year ago levels. This is the third straight month they rose after a longish string of declines (in 34 or the past 36 months). Still, only 51.8% of all balances incur interest which is near its record all-time low. You do have to wonder how long that can last.

MORE FX FIREPOWER
The Reserve Bank and Finance Minister have agreed a new framework for managing foreign reserves, which will include the RBNZ holding more cash offshore - but it's not saying how much more.

SCAM ALERT
The FMA advises they are concerned that Magnitude Financial Group is operating a scam via their websites magnitudefinancialgroup.co.nz and magnitudefinancial-nz.co. They point out they are not a registered financial service provider in New Zealand and therefore not permitted to provide financial services to New Zealand residents. A check of their domain name registration points to an Eastern European owner.

NOT THE SHIFTS YOU MIGHT EXPECT
The latest Roy Morgan political poll for New Zealand has Labour at 27.5% (up +2% from the November poll), National at 35% (down -4%), the Greens at 11% (down -2%) and ACT at 14.5% (up +3.5%). 12% of those polled mentioned other parties (down from 12.5%). This polling was done before the Ardern resignation.

NO RELIEF IN AUSTRALIA
In Australia, their CPI rose +7.8% in the year to December. That was above market expectations and its highest since 1990. The most significant price rises were domestic travel and accommodation (+13.3%), electricity (+8.6%), international travel and accommodation (+7.6%). Food prices rose +9.2% there. The RBA next reviews its cash rate target on Tuesday, February 7, 2023. It is more likely to be a substantial rise now - and that in turn may affect the RBNZ thinking for its February 23, 2023 MPS review.

AUSSIE NEW HOME MARKET VERY WEAK
In Australia, their new home market is retreating faster. Sales of new homes fell by -4.6% in December leaving sales in the final quarter of 2022 a remarkable -42% lower than at the same time in 2021. Anecdotal data in New Zealand suggests a similar pattern is developing here in 2023.

SWAP RATES FALL LESS THAN EXPECTED
Wholesale swap rates likely slipped today after the CPI data but probably not be anything significant. Early indicators suggested a chunky fall, but later ones not so much. The real action comes near the close however. Our chart will record the final positions. The 90 day bank bill rate is up +2 bps at 4.90%. The Australian 10 year bond yield is now at 3.45% and down -3 bps from this time yesterday. The China 10 year bond rate is at 2.96% and unchanged of course. The NZ Government 10 year bond rate is now at 4.11% and down -3 bps, and still above the earlier RBNZ fix for the NZGB 10 year which is down -5 bps at 4.04%. The UST 10 year is down -6 bps to 3.45%.

EQUITIES UNREMARKABLE
The NZX50 is heading for a +0.3% gain today, and most of that came after the CPI data was released. The ASX200 is down -0.2%, undermined by their high CPI news. Tokyo has opened little-changed. Hong Kong and Shanghai are closed still of course. The S&P500 ended on Wall Street earlier essentially unchanged too.

GOLD FIRM
In early Asian trade, gold is firm, now at US$1938/oz and up +US$5 from this time yesterday.

NZD HOLDS
The Kiwi dollar has slipped marginally to 64.8 USc from a day ago, moving remarkably little after the CPI data release. Against the Aussie we are now down more than -¾c to 91.6 AUc. Against the euro we are little-changed at 59.5 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 is still at 71.6 and just marginally lower.

BITCOIN SLIPS
The bitcoin price is down marginally from this time yesterday, now at US$22,535 and -1.9% lower with most of that fall coming since 11am NZT. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at +/- 1.5%.

Daily exchange rates

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Source: RBNZ

Source: CoinDesk

Daily swap rates

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Source: NZFMA

This soil moisture chart is animated here.

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80 Comments

by bw | 25th Jan 23, 4:17pm 1674616657

"this data reveals inflation way higher than the RBNZ policy target"

Say no more.

by Audaxes | 25th Jan 23, 4:08pm 1674616132

I suggest a directive to enforce gardening leave for those responsible for the RBNZ's failure to meet its inflation target.

by Uninterested | 25th Jan 23, 6:42pm 1674625330

Gardening being heavy slash removal. By hand.

by Foxglove. | 25th Jan 23, 4:30pm 1674617428

Credit card data, both paras as captioned, are telling. Consumers are becoming overburdened by debt while getting less for what they spend. A double whammy, that is.

by Smudge02 | 25th Jan 23, 5:46pm 1674621979

You often hear the term “We can talk ourselves into a recession” which I understand and accept however I feel we are currently more at risk of burying our heads in the sand and losing an opportunity to limit the damage.

by Audaxes | 25th Jan 23, 4:18pm 1674616730

Government resignations called for in the UK ?

Pressure grows on Jeremy Hunt to salvage Britain's economy after budget watchdog 'warns medium-term prospects for economic growth are bleak' after it got its forecast wrong - as national debt hits eyewatering £2.5trillion Link

by IT GUY | 25th Jan 23, 4:23pm 1674616982

a billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you are talking serious money......

by Gummy Bear Hero | 25th Jan 23, 6:16pm 1674623770

10 billion here .... 10 billion there ...

... ahhhhh ... I think you forgot to factor in inflation & the consultants' fees ...

by IT GUY | 25th Jan 23, 8:54pm 1674633243

Working groups are not cheap, neither are iwi consultations.

by profile | 25th Jan 23, 4:40pm 1674618006

Read those pasta ingredient labels carefully chaps.

"Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/5 of 3 January 2023 authorising the placing on the market of Acheta domesticus (house cricket) partially defatted powder as a novel food."

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32023R0005

by IT GUY | 25th Jan 23, 5:12pm 1674619939

OMG the conspiracy crowd will love this

by Palmtree08 | 25th Jan 23, 5:23pm 1674620587

Just a another sign of human overshoot.

by Palmtree08 | 25th Jan 23, 5:22pm 1674620520

Vegans beware!

by Gummy Bear Hero | 25th Jan 23, 6:22pm 1674624164

... why is it " defatted " ? ... any good chef will tell you that cricket fat is where the flavour is ...

by Uninterested | 25th Jan 23, 6:44pm 1674625485

Is that why I chirp without knowing why I am doing it?

by waymad | 25th Jan 23, 7:03pm 1674626615

But are them Crickets free range? Because it's simply cruel to cage them up by the million in containers.

by IT GUY | 25th Jan 23, 8:56pm 1674633366

House crickets are like free range crickets..... Jesus can you image the regulations that could be put around this craziness

by Gummy Bear Hero | 25th Jan 23, 11:02pm 1674640948

... if you farm them are you a cricketer ?

by Foxglove. | 25th Jan 23, 5:01pm 1674619276

Latest Roy Morgan poll is interesting. Generally used to think their polling as being a bit, let’s say, maverick. But these numbers, for that date, look pretty credible to the point that it predicted an election outcome that you could be pretty confident about. PM Ardern’s departure has obviously apple carted all that. All the forthcoming polls are going to be of renewed and even greater interest obviously.

by kiwikidsnz | 25th Jan 23, 5:06pm 1674619578

How would the media respin all their recent Ardern hagiography if the polls show a +ve bounce for Labour after she left ?

by Foxglove. | 25th Jan 23, 5:17pm 1674620279

It can happen because it has happened. When Lange abruptly quit and Palmer took his place, overnight he polled at over 20% as preferred PM even though up until then he had scarcely featured. That just goes to show how ignorance favours the incumbent and at the moment of course Hipkins himself is dominating the headlines and airwaves. Given that it is quite likely he will jump up and take the party up a bit too. You know, the person that if polled just blurts out the first name that happens to be in their head.

by Gummy Bear Hero | 25th Jan 23, 5:35pm 1674621343

And , as Prof Robert McCullouch wrote in " Down to Earth Kiwi " , Chippy's first speeches have been dominated by the nation's economy , something Ardern seldom mentioned in 5 whole years ...

... she was off on a moral crusade to lead & save the world , puffed up with ideological wonderland dreams ... forgetting that the rest of us are struggling to pay the bills & to negotiate life's daily pot holes ...

by Foxglove. | 25th Jan 23, 5:43pm 1674621794

Favourite recipe of many it seemed, flim flam with a fairy dust topping. I would put 90% of her reign in the category of circuitous utterances of nothingness, empty rhetoric verging on propaganda. But the other 10% was very good, the pathos, the celebrity and the representation of New Zealand internationally.

by Gummy Bear Hero | 25th Jan 23, 6:09pm 1674623354

... she was fricking brilliant as our unofficial ambassador to the world ... they loved her overseas ... lapped up her vacuous puff pieces as a new moral compass ... the looking glass forward into Jacinda's Worldwide Wonderland ...

Completely & utterly useless at actually leading her nation ... the poor saps who mistakingly voted for her ... ... far & away the worst PM for the day to day business of running Zealandia ...

by solardb | 25th Jan 23, 8:31pm 1674631903

She's gone and your still carrying on about her.Hmmm says doctor Freud

by Gummy Bear Hero | 25th Jan 23, 9:26pm 1674635214

.. ahhhh .. so , we should just forget the horror years of Jacindamania , the mass intoxication with her holy aura , as if it never happened ... forget it all , move on ... forgive them all ?

by Grattaway | 25th Jan 23, 10:00pm 1674637223

Chairman Mao ha gone to as has Lenin but they still get MSM attention

by Foxglove. | 26th Jan 23, 7:00am 1674669643

If some as you suggest need some Freudian therapy, then they will be will back in the queue to those lefties who still persist in reminding all and sundry of the evils of John Key, long since departed.

by morepork | 25th Jan 23, 5:58pm 1674622733

I'm not sure if we're ready for ACT getting 14.5%, that would give them at least 17 MPs. They would demand, and deserve, some pretty big cabinet roles were they to enter into government with a National party getting 35% (approx 42 MPs)

by Foxglove. | 25th Jan 23, 6:00pm 1674622856

According to the bottom line of figures it would be ACT 19 National 46 = 65. But you are correct in that no previous formal coalition party on the junior side has been as well represented, as much as that. That in itself, would be a novel challenge in order to balance the scales so to speak.

by Gummy Bear Hero | 25th Jan 23, 6:04pm 1674623049

Out with Labour ! ... ACT up , NZ ... let's do this ... TOP idea ...

by kiwikidsnz | 25th Jan 23, 6:12pm 1674623576

The difference from Willies "Maori caucus" is that ACTs policies & agenda are transparent and available to everyone up front.

by Gummy Bear Hero | 25th Jan 23, 6:05pm 1674623128

Chippy needs to keep a firm hand on his Willie ....

by Foxglove. | 25th Jan 23, 8:49pm 1674632959

Wee Willie Winkie, runs through the town, upstairs and downstairs, in his nightgown. My wonderful Irish grandmother used to sing that lullaby so beautifully. Didn’t help me sleep much and given your connotation, tonight might not be much different.

by dumbthoughts | 25th Jan 23, 6:26pm 1674624398

See today's press conference from Chippy - very evasive on what co-governance might look like (I get he's only been PM for about six hours, but he has been knees deep in all this for nearly two electoral terms so he cannot claim ignorance).

Not much transparency at all, just "we'll need to figure out what it means" but it's "nothing to be afraid of" (per his Ratana comments).

If it's nothing to be afraid of, then why not come out and tell us what the end state looks like?

by Foxglove. | 25th Jan 23, 8:57pm 1674633470

Willie Jackson uttered those nothing to be afraid of words right at the the beginning of it all didn’t he. At the time, I took that to be one of the most unctuous and unconvincing statements I had ever heard any politician make and right then I concluded, there was everything to be afraid of and that prediction has now come to pass.

by dumbthoughts | 25th Jan 23, 7:08pm 1674626923

Once again, if it's nothing to be afraid of then Labour has nothing to hide - be clear with what you intend to happen if it isn't the slightest bit frightening.

I don't think I trust any politician, but Willie Jackson I trust less than most. Imagine having the arrogance to declare singlehandedly that 'democracy has changed'.

by Grattaway | 25th Jan 23, 10:04pm 1674637494

Apparently we the great unwashed just misunderstand what is intended - so here we go again - another PM who thinks the people of NZ are just a bit thick

A condescending approach typical of a self important ignorant twat

by Gummy Bear Hero | 25th Jan 23, 10:19pm 1674638362

... it's now less than 9 months to go before we have the golden opportunity to administer the mother of all kickings into these condescending , lying , bullsh*tting , ignorant , incompetent twats ... can't wait !

by JimboJones | 25th Jan 23, 6:44pm 1674625455

Transparent, you’re joking right? They are going to significantly decrease the tax rates, do they say how they are going to pay for it? At 17.5% I doubt there would be much money left after super and health, or are they going to cut one of those?

by kiwikidsnz | 25th Jan 23, 7:08pm 1674626938

https://www.act.org.nz/policies

https://www.act.org.nz/policies/real-change-budget

by HouseMouse | 25th Jan 23, 6:15pm 1674623709

This is what happens when a centre-left government fails to deliver on its centre-left policy promises. A big swing to the right. It’s happened many times in history and will happen many times more.

It’s a fundamental failure of the left, and the left just don’t seem to get it. More often they seem more beholden to business interests than working people.

Just bizarre.

by Gummy Bear Hero | 25th Jan 23, 6:20pm 1674624005

... and , when the left bulldoze through parliament under urgency a lot of policies that were not foreshadowed at the previous election & which are highly controversial , expensive & frankly , unnecessary ....

by JimboJones | 25th Jan 23, 6:57pm 1674626234

I’m going to remind the residents of regional NZ how they thought three waters wasn’t necessary when their councils go under in a few years time due to ageing water infrastructure. I sure hope they don’t get bailed out.

by Gummy Bear Hero | 26th Jan 23, 1:35am 1674650119

... back up the bus there Jimbo ... it was the Gnats who originally set it up , to gain an overview of the nation's 3 waters infrastructure ... with a view to helping out where necessary ...

Labour perverted it into a nasty asset grab and a power shift to Tainui ... then added geothermal & foreshore , surreptitiously... and made an underhand attempt at entrenchment...

by Foxglove. | 25th Jan 23, 6:23pm 1674624234

To go back a bit, was it not recorded that Mike Moore advised his incoming government colleagues about big business “don’t piss em off.” And the next time round when De Cullen addressed a meeting of the same up north somewhere, he had a road to Damascus moment that delivered the same message. Well this Labour government has been heedless of those lessons while at the same time, as you point out, failed to satisfy much of anything on their left either. So what exactly have they achieved then?

by HouseMouse | 25th Jan 23, 6:28pm 1674624529

Exactly.

Pissed off most of the left, and all of the right (including big business).

by JimboJones | 25th Jan 23, 6:53pm 1674626022

To be fair it’s also what happens when inflation is running at 7%. I doubt the UK conservatives would be polling that well now either. Will be interesting to see how “chippy” polls, but really it will all depend on what happens to the economy by election time.

by paashaas | 25th Jan 23, 7:49pm 1674629374

you might not be ready .. I very much am.

by Zack Brando | 25th Jan 23, 4:47pm 1674618478

WOKEFLATION

Wokeflation: Used to described the correlation (not necessary causation) of the activeness/proliferation of woke activism and policy making [extreme baizuo] when compared to national inflation statistics over time.

- Wokeflation is claimed to be observable whether inflation is trending up or down. If wokeflation theory holds true, inflation and wokeness will peak at similar times,

- No research has been conducted into lag times, or wokeflation itself. Wokeflation is a cultioeconomic theory and should be taken with a generous helping of salt.

LOL, just needed to make myself laugh, and no, wokeflation isn't a word as far as I know.

by kiwikidsnz | 25th Jan 23, 5:00pm 1674619209

Konstantin Kisin speaking at the Oxford Union for the motion "This house believes that Woke culture has gone too far" - 9 minutes.

https://youtu.be/JKIOSnKX96E

The Union voted 89-60 in favour of the motion.

by JimboJones | 25th Jan 23, 5:12pm 1674619945

I thought wokeflation would be increasingly calling things woke no matter how logical they are.

by J.C. | 25th Jan 23, 5:34pm 1674621288

Extreme baizuo

Love this word. Deserves a Wiki moment as many won't know it:

A Chinese neologism used to refer to Western leftist ideologies primarily espoused by white people.....a reference to those whose political opinions are perceived as being overly driven by emotion. According to Chinese political scientist Chenchen Zhang, the word "Baizuo" refers to those who "only care about topics such as immigration, minorities, LGBT rights and the environment", but lack a concept of "real problems in the real world". It is also used to describe those "hypocritical humanitarians who advocate political correctness just to satisfy their own sense of moral superiority".Some used this word to indicate those "ignorant and arrogant westerners" who "pity the rest of the world and think they are saviors".

by waymad | 25th Jan 23, 7:32pm 1674628330

Are dese folks 'up the baizuo' then?

by Yvil | 25th Jan 23, 5:29pm 1674620946

51.8% of all (credit card) balances incur interest

That's terrible money management. So more than half the people with credit cards live a life 20% more expensive than they have to.

Folks, pay your credit card off, in full, every month!!!

by False economies | 25th Jan 23, 5:36pm 1674621372

Maybe they can't...?

by HouseMouse | 25th Jan 23, 6:18pm 1674623882

Exactly. Yvil has no conception of how hard life is, financially, for a large chunk of the population, often through no fault of their own. And that hardship has been driven, to a significant extent, by the property- friendly policies of the last 20 years.

by JimboJones | 25th Jan 23, 6:46pm 1674625582

If they can’t afford it now what makes them think they can afford it later?

by Yvil | 25th Jan 23, 6:52pm 1674625965

I disagree, I deal with a lot of "poor ". Sadly, they lack the most basic understanding about money, they have no foresight whatsoever and all that matters is instant gratification. I know, I pay some of them to do basic work and the money is spent immediately, I mean within minutes of receiving it, onto alcohol and cigarettes. I have said before, basic money management needs to be taught at school level.

by JimboJones | 25th Jan 23, 7:00pm 1674626413

Yep. You have to wonder whether poverty is the cause of their poverty or the effect of their money mismanagement.

Not denying that there are some genuinely very hard done by, but also a lot that live day by day and throw money away whenever they get it.

by HouseMouse | 25th Jan 23, 7:18pm 1674627492

Bloody heck. You are a hard one to work out sometimes Jimbo, as a vocal supporter of the Labour Party.

plenty of gross generalisations being thrown around by you two. Obviously some truth to the generalisations but….

You totally gloss over those people - and there’s a lot of them - genuinely going backwards in this economy. Working hard, on low-middle incomes.

Or those young couples who saved bloody hard for a deposit, bought a house 2-3 years ago on low interest rates, and are now refinancing at current interest rates. Some of them might have had children in the interim. And so on.

by Yvil | 25th Jan 23, 7:31pm 1674628293

Surely the people who struggle financially, don't need to pay an additional 20% for everything they buy via credit card debt!

They need financial literacy and discipline. But they have neither, that's why they are struggling.

by JimboJones | 25th Jan 23, 7:56pm 1674629813

I like the progressive “woke” stuff, not a fan of the socialist side. I want NZ to advance and invest, neither party seem to want that but Labour are closer than National.

by HouseMouse | 25th Jan 23, 9:16pm 1674634569

Hmmm. You often speak out very strongly in support of Labour. What ‘progressive’ stuff of theirs do you like?

by Rhumline | 25th Jan 23, 9:16pm 1674634569

Actually (and I hate to say this for the second time in 10 years on Interest.co) Yvil is right. The notion of treating CC's as free and easy debt is so wrong by any objective criteria. If you can't afford to borrow...dont!

by HouseMouse | 25th Jan 23, 9:18pm 1674634724

In principle of course I agree. But I don’t think life is that simple or neat and tidy, especially for people on low-middle incomes in this environment with very high and rapidly increasing cost of living.

of course some people are able to rely on the bank of mum and dad to bail them out.

by nzphoenix | 25th Jan 23, 11:14pm 1674641681

This is a refreshing, non-reactionary take. Something I can finally agree with you on..!

by Yvil | 26th Jan 23, 8:37am 1674675471

Thanks, I will take the "non-reactionnary" part of your comment on board, and try my best to keep my comments that way.

by kiwikidsnz | 25th Jan 23, 6:59pm 1674626394

Back in the 1970s very few people had credit cards & fewer had cc debt. Weekly pay was cash & came in small brown Kalamazoo envelopes. You shook out the change and handed the rest of the envelope to your wife...

by dumbthoughts | 25th Jan 23, 6:22pm 1674624124

Interesting call today with a client I haven't caught up with since about Q3 last year (occasional work for me).

This client develops a particular software solution that they sell to businesses who effectively resell it to their clients ... think how Xero typically works but for a different vertical.

The typical 'end user' clients are hospitality outlets, small retailers, trades businesses etc. Basically smaller outfits.

The software provider (my client) has data on the number of cancellations through their reseller partners, and collates information on the reasons given for cancellation.

They noted that since the start of the year they have seen a big uptick in the number of end users cancelling their platform subscriptions (via the resellers). In the post-cancellation survey results, the feedback on the platform is overwhelmingly positive - the issue is simply that business is no longer viable for these small operators and they are looking to shut up shop.

Reasons given are:

Can't find staff - primarily for hospo
Costs rising too fast
Leads/sales have dropped off all of a sudden, and with the business can't stay afloat - this is the most commonly given reason

These are typically very small businesses; one-man-with-a-van electricians, mum and dad cafes, 'hobbyist' retail but still an interesting development.

This business was started prior to the GFC, and the director says the drop off this time is more pronounced and sudden than in 2008/9.

by HouseMouse | 25th Jan 23, 6:30pm 1674624641

These sorts of anecdotes are brilliant. They aren’t reflected in the musings of most of the ivory tower economists.

by dumbthoughts | 25th Jan 23, 7:09pm 1674626972

Thanks, I will keep them coming as I go about my business.

I'm always keen to hear what others are observing too!

by waymad | 25th Jan 23, 7:41pm 1674628865

Power price advisory today. From the company with the zombie jiggling the baby zombie advert.

Unit rate goes from 27.1 to 32.6c/kwh. That's 20.3% up.

Daily rate (temporary supply) goes from 1.833 to 2.20/day. That's 20% up.

7.2%? Pfffft....,

by HouseMouse | 25th Jan 23, 8:21pm 1674631296

Grantham on housing and stock market, c/o Macrobusiness

https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2023/01/grantham-and-now-for-the-globa…

by Squishy | 25th Jan 23, 8:36pm 1674632179

...this data reveals inflation way higher than the RBNZ policy target, and with little actual concrete evidence it will retreat to that level any time soon. Remember, food price inflation ran at 10.7% in the quarter.

I will believe that RBNZ have a handle on inflation when we get back to back quarters of declining CPI. Then they should start thinking about sticking the landing.

by Pa1nter | 25th Jan 23, 8:39pm 1674632363

It's about this point I was wishing I could flee to Australia. Escape all the high inflation, falling asset prices and co-governance.....

by IT GUY | 25th Jan 23, 8:58pm 1674633515

Is it just me or is the Hubris around JA's departure nuts? she has just squandered the biggest political majority in a single term, from no requirement for a coalition partner to the opposition benches.... and they are still fawning over Aunty Cindy? I just do not understand that disconnect. She is a failed leader.

by HouseMouse | 25th Jan 23, 9:20pm 1674634804

100% agree. Bizarre!!!!

Note - I don’t think she was a bad PM. But she wasn’t really a very good one either. She was burdened by a very poor team, and there’s only so much an OK captain or coach can do with a limited talent pool. To use a sporting analogy.

Even Pep Guardiola would struggle to get Everton achieving above modest levels.

by chebbo | 25th Jan 23, 9:18pm 1674634715

It was never about politics. You see the same type of behaviour when a popular contender gets voted off Celebrity Treasure Island. This is what democracy has been reduced to. A reality TV show.

by Gummy Bear Hero | 25th Jan 23, 10:13pm 1674637987

Ardern chose to politicise Covid19 , and to stand up on the Podium of Truth daily at 1 pm ... it's her fault for over exposing herself ... and the cover pages of Womans Weekly : she played the celebrity card to the full ... until the fall ...

... she'll probably surface on Dancing With Stars soon ...