As a long time National Party supporter I am increasingly disillusioned with the populist leadership of John Key and your Government.
Presently you are coasting in the slipstream of the Prime Minister`s popularity but nothing is surer that in the fullness of time his present acclaim will wane and as a perceived acolyte of his you leave yourself in a vulnerable position. It is time to distance yourself from the Prime Minister and to adopt a more independent stance so that when the next leadership contender emerges you are not tainted by your current close association.
The shenanigans surrounding the Banks/Key tea party, the skullduggery of the Sky City/Auckland Convention Centre agreement, the Solid Energy debacle(is Mr Elder still at home on full salary?), the short term expediency of selling Mighty River Power, (together with the cynical attempt to promote the sale of MRP shares by trying to do a deal with Rio Tinto) and now the back door appointment of a sometime acquaintance of the Prime Minister to head the Government Communications and Security Bureau--- leaves me disappointed, embarrassed and disgruntled.
Remember the adage, 'you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time ' and I suspect an increasing number of Kiwis are not being fooled in which case the mud may be starting to stick to Teflon John.
PS. Is the PM being treated for his recurring bouts of amnesia?

David Ogilvy, Tauranga.