It’s been over a week now.
And I haven’t seen or heard of anything of Uncle Helen following her election defeat.
It seems so odd that year after year of seeing someone in the public eye so much, someone so dominant on the New Zealand political scene, she is no longer there.
Always doing something, always saying something, never short of a comment for the issue of the day.
And now, nothing! Absolutely nothing!
No comment on the election of Phil Goff, no word on the new cabinet.
Not even a papparazi photo of Uncle Helen nipping out to the corner dairy.
Where is she? What is she doing?
Has she been making Peter breakfast in bed, making up for the times she was too busy running the country to attend to his needs?
Has she nipped off for a quiet holiday in the Pacific or some lonely cottage in some wild beauty spot.
Is she out partying in the Viaduct Basin every night? Is she working off her frustration at losing in Les Mills Gym everyday? Might I bump into her while getting the shopping at New World? Or the Briscoes outlet store at Morningside as she stocks up on towels?
Or is she working the phones seeking work, updating the CV, planning a comeback? We can only speculate.
It just seems so strange without Dear Leader and her deep voice on the news. Am I getting withdrawal symptoms already? How do you feel not having HER in your life any more? It does feel odd.
If it wants to do its job properly, the media should be tracking her down, reporting on the post-election life of the once most powerful woman in New Zealand. Surely, there is someone she wants to pour her heart out too. Will it be Paul Holmes that receives the call?
And I haven’t seen or heard of anything of Uncle Helen following her election defeat.
It seems so odd that year after year of seeing someone in the public eye so much, someone so dominant on the New Zealand political scene, she is no longer there.
Always doing something, always saying something, never short of a comment for the issue of the day.
And now, nothing! Absolutely nothing!
No comment on the election of Phil Goff, no word on the new cabinet.
Not even a papparazi photo of Uncle Helen nipping out to the corner dairy.
Where is she? What is she doing?
Has she been making Peter breakfast in bed, making up for the times she was too busy running the country to attend to his needs?
Has she nipped off for a quiet holiday in the Pacific or some lonely cottage in some wild beauty spot.
Is she out partying in the Viaduct Basin every night? Is she working off her frustration at losing in Les Mills Gym everyday? Might I bump into her while getting the shopping at New World? Or the Briscoes outlet store at Morningside as she stocks up on towels?
Or is she working the phones seeking work, updating the CV, planning a comeback? We can only speculate.
It just seems so strange without Dear Leader and her deep voice on the news. Am I getting withdrawal symptoms already? How do you feel not having HER in your life any more? It does feel odd.
If it wants to do its job properly, the media should be tracking her down, reporting on the post-election life of the once most powerful woman in New Zealand. Surely, there is someone she wants to pour her heart out too. Will it be Paul Holmes that receives the call?
So where is Uncle Helen? What is she doing?
24 comments:
Who?
who cares?
Do you think the two cows are mopping up each others tears?
Working the shredders 24/7 with H2 I should imagine. Only a couple of hours to go before the blue team storm the top floor.
Is there any chance that now Helen Clark is no longer PM, the obsessive and inexplicable hatred of her constantly expressed at No Minister could be quietly shelved?
The thought of Helen Clark attending to Peter Davis' needs is just a bit too much for this hour of the morning!!
PM, there was no hate in my post.
I guess I am finding it odd without her.
So dominant one minute.
Then gone the next.
FFM, it is entirely possible and likely she is having a bit of time off. Even bilious bitches must get tired sometimes.
"inexplicable" hatred?
It's only inexplicable if you regard corruption and arrogance as acceptable.
I'm sure the left would love to see it "quietly shelved".
Yessir--let the trashing of parliamentary conventions, a corrupt, partisan speaker, corruption and the support of a clearly corrupt coalition partner, the stifling of free speech via the EFA etc etc etc conveniently disapper down the memory-hole...
After all, the left has had a great deal of practice at that.
Should the Key government try the same things I'm damn sure the right-wing blogs will come down on him too.
I was hoping nobody would mention the fact that H1 is MIA.
Let's remember the Hammer Horror Code of Practice:
1. Vampires cannot be up and about when the sun is out. They can't stand the cold light of day.
2. Zombies do their best work out of sight.
3. When we know that the evil is still out there, waiting to seize its chance when we least expect it, paranoia sets in -- we jump at the slightest noise.
4. The impact is greatest when we forget all about that which lurks in the darkness -- until it emerges at the most unexpected moment.
Keep the stake sharpened and the garlic fresh.
Fairfacts, that's no way to talk about your Uncle! Truth be known I would prefer she was offshore, thus curtailing her temptation to meddle. Self imposed exile is best. She is, however only human, & deserves some time off.
"..She is, however only human.."
There are rumours to that effect.
""inexplicable" hatred?
It's only inexplicable if you regard corruption and arrogance as acceptable."
Yes. Dear old Chris Trotter's still shaking his head at the 'injustice' of it all, too! I'm crying for him.
They just don't get how angry so many of us were, do they.
No, we just don't get how y'all can get so worked up over a perfectly ordinary politician. There were lefty extremists equally excited about the terrible political crimes of Shipley, Bolger, Lange etc, and it just made me wonder why they couldn't get a grip on themselves. The demonising of Clark is no exception to that rule, and when we start to see the Standard etc frothing on about the terrible crimes of John Key's administration, that also will be no exception. It's more a sign of having nothing better to do than any actual crimes of the politicians.
I'm saving the bile for others.
It's just like she has been wiped from existence since election da.
yes, she's entitled to time off.
But there has been nothing in the papers, not even a mention of her in a gossip column, say seen having lunch somewhere with freinds, or jut geting some groceries in.
It's like she doesn't exist any more.
When Tony Blair was elected in 1997, a few days later the defeated John Major was spotted on tv watching an England cricket match and everybody thought 'good on him.'
So where is Uncle Helen?
Surely Liarbour's spinners can whip something up.
FFM, you are obsessed with her.
Let Old Hell rest or die in peace.
No wonder you are upset.
What will you do with your huge collection of gruesome Hell photos.
What will Whale Oil do with his?
However, I take your point.
Old Hell was everywhere, you would see her, hear her masuculine voice.
She was Dear Leader. She was God.
And now she is gone, she is nothing.
I see pics of her at the Herald's website today handing power over to John Key.
It looks like she has been let out for the first time since last Saturday.
Has she been in such a state she could not be seen in public?
Certainly the disappearance of Clark should be followed up.
Any journo worth their salt should be asking what she has done with her time and where to now for Helen Clark?
pdq
"It's more a sign of having nothing better to do than any actual crimes of the politicians."
Depends upon your definition of crime, I guess.
Lying - repeatedly for months - about helping herself to a fairly healthy total of illegal funding for her pledge card, and roundly abusing her accusers to boot ... and then changing the law to right the wrong (that she'd said wasn't wrong) the day before the court case where she could have proved that much-touted innocence, was a crime.
Now, had you or I helped ourselves to nearly $1 million to which we were not entitled, I suspect the police would take a very different view. As well they ought.
Having said that, I'll be very pleased to neither see nor hear from/about the woman again.
PM.
Obsessive- definitely.
Inexplicable- definitely not.
For all the reasons listed above and quite a few more beside.
I can start with her changes to birthing in this country when she sat with Roger Douglas in cabinet. That alone is enough for me to froth and rant about her until the day I die.
However, I respect your viewpoint and will save my bile about this woman for my other soapbox from now on..
I guess there maybe some withdrawal symptoms.
And yes, what will I do with my collection of photos?
But though she is gone, Uncle Helen remains a public figure, and is still news, of interest to the public.
Hence my surprise at her media blackout.
And if she does go abroad and/or National do set up an anti-corruption committee , we will carry on seeing her.
No no BB, you mustn't do that, it would be all wrong. You post what you like about whom you like, and if I whinge about it you tell me to fuck off. It's the No Minister way...
[If] National do set up an anti-corruption committee , we will carry on seeing her.
If only you were writing this as comedy, FFM!
Perhaps you are right PM.
After the trial she would be sent down:)
Milt, if it's any consolation, it felt the same when we finally got Muldoon's ugly face and rasping voice out of our lives too.
For an answer to the question posed in the initial post, consider Galtung and Ruge basic news values:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_values.
She has been only the caretaker Prime Minister. Caretaker ministers can 'do' very little that's reportable as news.
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