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Speaker 1: All right, we need to talk about Chris Luxen and

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Speaker 1: this performance yesterday.

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Speaker 2: Oh, I mean we obviously understand. I'm not saying that.

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Speaker 2: What we're saying is that we understand this. I don't

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Speaker 2: know have any clearer guys, I mean, you.

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Speaker 1: Know what's going wrong here? A The Prime Minister doesn't

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Speaker 1: want to say what he actually thinks. He doesn't want

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Speaker 1: to take a position on the air strikes on I RAN.

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Speaker 1: If he says he supports the air strikes, then he

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Speaker 1: runs the risk of copying it from what may be

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Speaker 1: a majority but almost certainly is a vocal minority of

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Speaker 1: Kiwis who don't like anything that the US does militarily.

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Speaker 1: If he says he opposes the US air strikes, then

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Speaker 1: he runs the risks risk of that becoming a global headline,

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Speaker 1: as in New Zealand criticizes US air strikes and then

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Speaker 1: getting the country offside with the most volatile US president

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Speaker 1: in modern history and whatever that brings with it. So

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Speaker 1: either way, he's in a bit of a position, isn't he.

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Speaker 1: A generous interpretation is that he's trying to protect New

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Speaker 1: Zealand from Trump. A less generous interpretation is he's trying

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Speaker 1: to protect himself from unhappy voters. Now, the problem with

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Speaker 1: that is that it always ends up where it always

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Speaker 1: ends up with Chris Luxon trying to avoid a position.

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Speaker 1: He looks clumsy and he looks uncertain. It makes mistakes

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Speaker 1: like saying that he supports anything the US may do

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Speaker 1: to prevent nuclear weapons, including carpet bombing, which he's now

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Speaker 1: had to walk back today. Now, Luxon's been here before,

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Speaker 1: hasn't he. I mean to remember the three minute interview

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Speaker 1: with Mike Hosking where he didn't want to take a

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Speaker 1: position on whether he would have sacked Andrew Bailey or not.

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Speaker 1: I'd say, in not wanting to pick between the two

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Speaker 1: positions on the air strikes, as in supporting or not supporting,

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Speaker 1: he ended up creating a third position, which was to

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Speaker 1: make himself look foolish, and that for a leader in

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Speaker 1: election year, is the worst choice. Possibly. It is better,

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Speaker 1: I think, to pick a position, even if it is

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Speaker 1: an unpopular position, than to look like he does today.

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Speaker 1: For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to

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Speaker 1: news talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow

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Speaker 1: the podcast on iHeartRadio