The Auckland electorate of Epsom remains ground-zero for MMP silliness.
List MP Paul Goldsmith made a brief announcement he's been confirmed as National's candidate (run a text search on paulgoldsmith.co.nz and you'll see it as the 11th item in his March 2014 update).
Meanwhile, ACT candidate David Seymour has released a video with an Alan Patridge-esque intro that has instantly gone viral — for all the wrong reasons.
It's likely John Key — who has already attended a fundraiser for Seymour — will at some point have a cup of tea with the ACT candidate, giving National voters in Epsom the nod to deliver him their electorate vote.
At that point, the loopy mechanics of MMP mean Labour voters in Epsom would be best-placed to deliver their electorate vote to Goldsmith — a strategic move that could deliver the seat to the National candidate and prevent Seymour potentially bringing a couple of extra ACT MPs into Parliament on his coat-tails (if his party can get up to 2.5% in the list vote).
Meanwhile ... oh, David, that video.
Maybe the youthful Seymour will grow up to be one of ACT's finest players. But his amateur-hour YouTube effort indicates he's some distance from that point.
I'm having sport at Seymour's clip, but the underlying point is serious: given the outcome in Epsom will determine not just ACT's future but the shape of the next government, why has leader Jamie Whyte shied away from succeeding John Banks in the seat - instead leaving the job to someone who's coming across as a lightweight?
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Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, I'm David Seymour
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