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Speaker 1: Winston has definitively ruled out working with Labour, not just

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Speaker 1: Chippy but Labour. He had, of course, already pretty much

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Speaker 1: done this earlier in the year, after his State of

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Speaker 1: the Nation address, in which he called the Labour leadership

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Speaker 1: a bunch of liars and unreformed losers. Remember that, But

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Speaker 1: this is crystal clear out. He's spoken to Thomas Coglan

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Speaker 1: at the Herald and its affirm Nah No, he's holding

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Speaker 1: up that sign. This is interesting for two reasons. One,

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Speaker 1: Winston's a political wizard. We know this. He knows how

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Speaker 1: to read the room and play the game. This is

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Speaker 1: not a random outburst from Winnie. This is a calculated

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Speaker 1: decision based on the path he thinks will get New

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Speaker 1: Zealand First back to the Treasury benches in twenty twenty six.

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Speaker 1: By virtue of ruling them out, he has reduced his

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Speaker 1: bargaining power, which is not an outcome that a king

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Speaker 1: maker like him takes lightly. The key to his success

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Speaker 1: on the campaign trail has always been as much about

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Speaker 1: what he stands against as what he stands for. Think immigration,

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Speaker 1: think treaty issues. He's decided that in twenty twenty six,

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Speaker 1: the punching will be a three headed clown show marriage

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Speaker 1: of the Greens, Labor and to Party Mardi. He's read

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Speaker 1: the room and he's picked his side. In twenty twenty three,

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Speaker 1: Winston ruled out Labor before Chippy definitively ruled out Winston.

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Speaker 1: Remember that our Chippy has yet to do the same

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Speaker 1: for twenty twenty six, and he's now missed his chance

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Speaker 1: and any moral high ground that went with it. Remember,

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Speaker 1: Hipkins must appeal to a base that despises the anti

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Speaker 1: woke agenda that Winston pedals. This year alone, he's labeled

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Speaker 1: him a pale version of Donald Trump, a conspiracy theorist,

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Speaker 1: a spokesman for the tobacco lobby, you name it. And

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Speaker 1: Hipkins's failure to rule out working with him kind of

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Speaker 1: undermines the high horse that he canters around the Parliament

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Speaker 1: on his approtestations now will sound rather hollow. So it's interesting,

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Speaker 1: isn't it, Winston, not just for Chippy but for Labor.

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Speaker 1: It is a hard no more. From early edition with

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Speaker 1: Ryan Bridge. Listen live to News Talks at b from

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Speaker 1: five am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.