Peters’ comeback a logic-free gambit
The only surprising aspect of Winston Peters’ wander through the parliament occupation this week was that it hadn’t happened sooner. But what was his endgame? Yet another tilt at parliament? A grab for attention? The veteran politician had been out of the limelight for the better part of 18 months, since the 2020 general election, and let’s not forget how huge the fall was. He went from being deputy prime minister and the most experienced politician in the country to Winston Raymond Peters, regular citizen, in the blink of an eye.
His NZ First Party attracted only 2.6 per cent of the party vote (75,021 votes). The perennial kingmaker had lost his grip of the crown. He didn’t even get a valedictory speech at parliament.
But rather than gracefully retire, Peters started re-emerging about September last year, railing against ‘‘Left-wing radical bull dust’’, and talking about the ‘‘the silent majority’’ who had been ‘‘deliberately ignored by mainstream media’’.
The seeds were well and truly planted for yet another comeback.
On the day the first protesters arrived, February 8, Peters was showing tacit support for the movement. On a radio show the following day, he said: ‘‘There are countries around the world who are saying that mandates are no longer justified... and I’m starting to think they’re right.’’
From there he went into Full Winston Mode, creating a ‘‘them and us’’ narrative, carefully telling all who would listen about ‘‘ordinary Kiwis’’ caught up in the protest, despite 94 per cent of New Zealanders aged 12 and over who just got on with life and got double-vaccinated.
But Peter has never been interested in the 94 per cent; it’s the 5 or 6 per cent that will help him get back to Parliament. On that, you can bet he is laserfocused.
He won’t let contradictions and past statements, such as his stance on mask-wearing, get in the way of what he wants.
He’d done the sums and knew a meander through parliament grounds on Tuesday among protesters would attract plenty of attention and was worth the risk (politically and, possibly, health-wise, as the venue was later deemed a Covid-19 location of interest).
His maskless visit, posing for photos and shaking hands as if he was in election campaign mode, was a surreal sight.
Peters followed up with a couple of unhinged interviews, doing his best to get the attention of any potential followers using tired buzzwords like ‘‘gaslighting’’ and ‘‘virtue-signalling’’, and talking about how the media have been paid off.
All of this may have emboldened the protesters for a short time, but it must have been a bitter pill to swallow for the Winston Peters/NZ First lifers – those 75,021 people who voted for him last election night.
It seems that Peters was willing to risk losing them for a chance to gain new supporters, many of whom didn’t just want to end mandates, but also were keen to end legally elected governments, and were happy to threaten MPs, media and members of the public.
What seems certain is that this latest, logic-free attempt at political relevance will not be his last before next year’s general election.
Peters’ maskless visit, posing for photos and shaking hands as if he was in election campaign mode, was a surreal sight.