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Speaker 1: Winston Peters is driving a bit of a dump truck.

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Speaker 1: I think through Luxeon's political strategy. His strategy is let

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Speaker 1: your ministers do the talking. He says his strength is

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Speaker 1: in picking his team and letting them do their thing.

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Speaker 1: Good reason to do that. He has competent ministers finance, Justice, police, Education,

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Speaker 1: Chris Bishop, Todd McLay on trade, Nikola Willis, she's taking control,

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Speaker 1: taking the bull by the horns on the fuel crisis,

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Speaker 1: which is his COVID. Let's not forget. But as a voter,

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Speaker 1: this leaves a little bit of a power vacuum at

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Speaker 1: the top, at least the appearance of one. Luxon's been

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Speaker 1: cutting back media appearances and when he does appear, performances

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Speaker 1: haven't been that great by his own admission. Now, if

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Speaker 1: Winston polls at twelve percent on election day or higher

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Speaker 1: New Zealand first, well they could make up a quarter

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Speaker 1: of the cabinet. Imagine that. That's why yesterday we met

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Speaker 1: Alfred Nado, not that people knew who he was, but

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Speaker 1: he was a minister. It's also why Winston was looking

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Speaker 1: at Stuart Nash, although that looks to be a little

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Speaker 1: dead duck in the water. After the unfortunate comments about

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Speaker 1: women's genitalia. The most powerful part of Winston's pitch to

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Speaker 1: voters yesterday, though, was not so much the policies which

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Speaker 1: we knew about. It was the experience and a time

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Speaker 1: of crisis as we battle these international headwinds. Experience matters.

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Speaker 1: It didn't hurt. The message came from a foreign minister

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Speaker 1: who's been around since Moses was a lannebacker. Now, if

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Speaker 1: you're a voter and you think the national leader is

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Speaker 1: a little bit doing a good job, got a good team,

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Speaker 1: but a little bit Mia or a little bit Na,

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Speaker 1: then you're left thinking, well, basically, I'm picking a cabinet,

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Speaker 1: aren't I? When I elect a party, I'm picking a cabinet,

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Speaker 1: not necessarily the one man or the one woman to

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Speaker 1: lead them all like a Jacinda. And if Winston wields

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Speaker 1: the power, and Luxon knows his failure in leadership is communication,

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Speaker 1: which he has said, what would be the harm in

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Speaker 1: for a year or two during the next term of

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Speaker 1: this coalition Winston peters as Prime minister for a year

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Speaker 1: or two. Luckson's political strategy creates a certain power vacuum,

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Speaker 1: and Winston would, i am sure, be more than happy

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Speaker 1: to fill it. For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge,

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Speaker 1: Listen live to News Talks at B from five am weekdays,

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Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio