Latest fromJohn Armstrong on politics
John Armstrong: Key's tactics leave Opposition sheepish
Given the already surreal shemozzle the likelihood of more embarrassments emerging should have had National feeling like a lamb to the slaughter.
NZ First's appeal to diminishing fan base spells doom for party
John Armstrong writes: NZ First is marooned in a time bubble of the economic boom of the 1950s along with the suffocating social conformity of that era.
John Armstrong: Euthanasia a dead end for all
Public pressure needs to be harnessed if the ban on assisted deaths is to be axed, writes John Armstrong.
US impatient over Iran nuclear deal
Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday the United States and its negotiating partners "will not rush, and we will not be rushed" into finalising a nuclear deal with Iran.
John Armstrong: English gets his surplus, but victory is spoiled
The surplus and its final size will not be known until October. But yesterday's figures effectively guarantee there will be one, writes John Armstrong.
John Armstrong: This is the house that Bill built
The Finance Minister is fuelling claims that privatisation is the Government's end game, writes John Armstrong.
John Armstrong: Brownlee finds targets with brilliant banter
Some MPs given the call to speak who try to be funny end up failing miserably. Brownlee never disappoints, writes John Armstrong.
John Armstrong: English bets the house on ideology
Bill English's willingness to allow a foreign housing provider to buy NZ state houses veers close to allowing blind ideology to get the better of common sense, says John Armstrong.
John Armstrong: Being foolish does not prove you are a fool
Colin Craig has made a nonsense of his enemies' pigeonholing of him as a political neophyte, writes John Armstrong.
John Armstrong: Lame duck or dead duck - the Conservative question
Without Colin Craig as leader, the party is surely in dead-duck territory, writes John Armstrong.
John Armstrong: Housing report should be compulsory reading
You hum it; Nathan Guy will sing it. Frank Sinatra may have crooned about there being an awful lot of coffee in Brazil, John Armstrong writes.
Armstrong: Perhaps it's best to lie low
If the Prime Minister describes your contribution as "outstanding", it might be wise to check on your pension entitlements.
John Armstrong: A telling hesitation
It was the tale of two King Johns; it was a tale of political timing, the first example being exquisite, the second more than telling.
Transtasman relations matter more
Key had little choice but to put some distance between himself and Abbott's handling of the asylum-seeker payment row, writes John Armstrong.
John Armstrong: English's bonds lacking universal catch-cry
Social impact bonds bear little resemblance to the kind of debt instruments you find in the finance market, writes John Armstrong.
Key and Little kick for touch on euthanasia
It did not take long. Just three days, if that, for the politicians to get voluntary euthanasia well and truly off the political agenda, writes John Armstrong.
John Armstrong: Criticism slides off Teflon-coated MP
Try as they might, Labour and NZ First failed to turn the Great Saudi Sheep Saga into the Great Saudi Sheep Scandal, writes John Roughan.
Cunliffe's ghost stalks review
The internally conducted review of Labour's abysmal performance before and during last year's election campaign is already being widely dismissed.
National coy on social 'real agenda'
The National Party and its leader like to paint themselves as running a government that is moderate and pragmatic, writes John Armstrong.
John Armstrong: Greens' image newbie's challenge
The demise of the Alliance should give the Green Party pause for thought, writes John Armstrong.
Political cut and thrust over Auckland real estate
Labour is keen to paint Housing Minister Nick Smith as ever more desperate to find answers to Auckland's housing crisis, writes John Armstrong
Front line approaches Kiwis
NZ's contingent of military training specialists have barely arrived and the folly of this military (mis)adventure is already becoming apparent, writes Armstrong.
John Armstrong: Budget draws battle lines for election
The Budget was a rock of certainty and continuity in a sea of almost surreal politics played out most visibly and vividly by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, John Armstrong.
John Armstrong: Show us the money
For reasons long forgotten and now covered by the essentially meaningless blanket explanation of "tradition", Budgets are always delivered on a Thursday afternoon.
John Armstrong: National's challenge to avoid looking tired
Thursday's Budget will be judged just as much by what is missing from the document as by what it actually contains.
John Armstrong: No need for Black Hole Budget
National would have been better off sticking to the original deadline, John Armstrong writes.
Labour rings changes by schmoozing big business
Andrew Little is inviting the Barbarians at the gate into Labour's lair in an attempt to lift the party's economic credentials, writes John Armstrong.