Is it really so hard to be kind to people in politics?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with ambition. Ambition should be admired and looked upon favourably. People should absolutely strive to get to the top if that's what they want, but I do have just one question. Of course, anyone who has read any blog I've written will know that when I have "just one question", it's actually more like a million questions, and some of these questions are purely rhetorical, while I do hope that I can answer some of them.

To give some background, there was a leak within NZ's National Party and it basically turned into a "he said, she said" mud slinging match (that could actually be a good song come to think of it) but over time the issue grew and grew. There were allegations that the leaker was mentally unstable. Over time the leaker was revealed to be Botany MP Jami Lee Ross who, up until that moment had been an up and comer. He was number seven on the list and having known him back at uni, I had thought he'd be future Prime Minister. Of course, we now know that's not going to happen. He was expelled from the National Party. There was talk of there being a by election, but that won't happen because as he's an electorate MP he's now an independent. Whether or not he stands at the next General Election remains to be seen.

The real issue though is the treatment of Jami Lee Ross by those within National, those on social media and media commentators.

After the election when NZ First leader, and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, chose Labour, Jacinda Ardern said taht she hoped that she could bring kindness to politics and that's what I really want to talk about this blog today. Why can't politics be kind? Why must everyone be nasty to eachother? Why does there have to be callousness? To my knowledge, Jacinda Ardern has never ever shafted anyone to get to the top and was a reluctant leader.

Over the last couple of weeks within the National Party we have seen the total opposite. Both National Party Leader Simon Bridges and Deputy Leader Paula Bennett have been nasty about Jami Lee Ross, with Paula bringing Ross' marriage and personal life into the debate. Basically it's been what I would call a smear campaign. Now I don't want to comment on whether or not Ross did in fact mistreat women in his office as allegations suggest, but the reaction to his mental health is what I do want to discuss, and the treatment of him following his admission to hospital last weekend has been quite honestly shameful. So shameful that it actually prompted the NZ Mental Health Foundation to speak out about it.

Firstly, today there was a headline in the NZ Herald (and normally I read them with a grain of salt but this headline really bothered me) that said:

National leader Simon Bridges says Jami-Lee Ross is "no longer my problem" because he is not a National MP anymore.

Source: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12147674  

That comment from Simon Bridges shows a few things that the National Party should be ashamed of.

1. It shows that he is callous and cold because he doesn't have any feeling whatsoever towards a former member of his caucus who clearly had a mental breakdown.
2. It shows little regard for those with mental health issues. If he can't offer support to a member of his caucus how can he possibly run the country?
3. What type of culture is he running in the National Party where a long standing MP with a promising future has a mental breakdown? Did he inherit the culture or did he create it? Those questions must be asked because without answers the public cannot trust the National Party.

Simon Bridges must step down as the leader of the National Party because if he's unwilling to support a former member of his caucus what will his views towards mental health in the general community be?

If Simon Bridge is willing to publicly shame an MP, what will his general attitude towards bullying in the community be? Bear in mind that NZ has one of the worst rates for bullying. How are people supposed to stop bullying eachother if the MPs and supposed leaders of the nation don't set a good example?

The poor behaviour from Simon Bridges doesn't stop there though. A few days ago it was reported that he had called MP Maureen Pugh a hopeless MP. What type of leader says that about a member of their team? If you expect better from your staff wouldn't you encourage them? Wouldn't you try to help them?

Maureen Pugh's response has also been somewhat questionable with her saying that she is glad that Jami Lee Ross is no longer in the National Party. She has also acted poorly when saying nothing would have been better. Her comment just added fuel to the fire.

Only one MP within National has actually shown any type of compassion and humanity and that's Auckland Central MP, Nikki Kaye who has never demonstrated, or shown herself to be nasty. She posted on Facebook yesterday:

Some of you have messaged me regarding what has occurred recently. It has been a very tough time for many people. I have been shocked and saddened by what I have heard. My thoughts are with the women who have come forward and I know that people are working to ensure that they are supported. I am also thinking of Jami-Lee Ross and his family at this time. The leader has confirmed that we will get some independent advice to make sure we have the best possible systems and processes to ensure that people are safe and are supported.

Why can't others show compassion and care towards everyone involved? Why does it have to be an either/or scenario? It appears as if several people are hurting, so why can't they all be cared for?

This brings me to my next point, if Simon Bridges is unwilling to care, genuinely care about a (former) member of his caucus then how can he be trusted to lead the party, let alone the country? The simple answer is that he can't be.

So who should replace him?

On the absolutely not list would be Judith Collins and Paula Bennett, Paula Bennett for obvious reasons and Judith Collins because although I like her strength of character, at this particular point in time she's not the right leader. National needs to show that it has heart and that it does care about the country. It needs to go back to basics and instill confidence in the public.

Todd McClay who is currently Shadow Tourism Minister, Shadow Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister; and number 5 on the list, is an option. He's been quitely in the background for a few years, just getting on with the job.

Then there is Amy Adams who sits at number 3 on the list and was a contender after Bill English stood down following his defeat at the last election. She is a stable MP from the South Island and Shadow Finance Minister. Although she's unlikely to ever be Prime Minister, she could be an option to bring back compassion to the party.

Longer term would be Auckland Central MP Nikki Kaye, MP for Hutt South Chris Bishop or MP for Pakuranga, Simeon Brown. All of these MPs have potential and are up and comers. Kaye has always been popular within the community, beating out Jacinda Ardern in Auckland Central in 2008 and 2011 before Ardern was gifted the safe seat of Mount Albert, which has been held by Labour since its inception in 1946. She could potentially be Prime Minister and she certainly wouldn't resort to nasty tactics like some other politicians have.

The main thing to take away from all of this is that National has imploded and shown itself to be nasty, cold and callous. If someone has had a breakdown then the last thing you do is treat them like garbage as some of the MPs do. You offer them support and help. If National can't do that for one of their MPs how are they supposed to do that for Mental Health issues in the community? How are they supposed to care for the entire country when they can't even care for one person.

So to close this blog, I'm going quote Jacinda Ardern after she became the 40th Prime Minister of NZ last year; because this is what National needs to do, they need to bring kindness back and with Simon Bridges steering the wheel that's just not going to happen. National needs a new leader, one who actually cares about the people, because as Jacinda Ardern said on Radio NZ after she became Prime Minister last year.

I want people to feel that it's open, that it's listening and that it's going to bring kindness back...I know that will sound curious but to me if people see they have an empathetic government...it's not about just preserving people's political careers. It's not about power. It's about being in a position to make a difference.

Politicians need to set an example, and if they can't be kind to eachother, how are members of the general public supposed to be kind? Things need to change and nastiness needs to leave politics.

The same could apply to Australian politics or the community in general, but that's another blog post entirely.