One big headache

All this talk of coalitions is giving too many politicians the chance to fl ex their alliterative muscles.

- Michele Hewitson

What's the collective noun for a coalition? A concussion of coalitions? There are certainly enough dire predictions about possible coalitions to give an electorate a cracking headache. Fancy a coalition of fear? That would be an unholy alliance of National, Act and NZ First, according to the Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, who, while condemning the prospect of a fear-inducing coalition, was doing his utmost to whip up fear at the prospect. How about a coalition of chaos? That would be an equally unholy alliance of Labour and the Greens, according to the opposition.

Hipkins was spoilt for alliteratively named coalition choices. National and Act would also be the "coalition of cuts". They were pretenders - climate change? Let's pretend it ain't happening and meddlers tinkering with superannuation - and slashers - of spending on public services.

Labour know a thing or two about cutting their own wrists. In the cases of their long-anticipated wealth and capital gains taxes, they got in before themselves and cut them dead before they could even be announced. Choppity chop.

Act called a Labour/Greens prospect a coalition of chaos. A National and Act alliance would amount to a coalition of colonisers, said Te Pāti Māori.

How about a coalition of cockups? At least such a meeting of what might loosely be called minds would be a non-partisan pick'n'mix. So, take your pick. Act list MP and Northland farmer Mark Cameron has apologised to leader David Seymour for nonsense he'd posted on social media, including calling believers in global warming "nutjobs".