Tag: James Joyce

OPINION: As far as political resignations go, Steven Joyce's was far from one of Parliament's most brutal. The senior National Party MP chose his moment and there was no apparent whiff of blood in the water before he did. It's not the saddest end to a career like his - many more political giants have gone out in worse circumstances, dragged kicking and screaming from the halls of power after more controversial falls from grace. * National's 'Mr Fixit' Steven Joyce resigns after failed leadership bid * Steven Joyce is bowing out of politics, but insists he's not going back to radio * Joyce sticks to $11.7 billion hole in Government budget But Joyce's star had fallen in the party, despite his success as campaign manager since 2005, despite the trust former Prime Ministers John Key and Bill English placed in him as their "Mr Fix-It" to parachute into a crisis and despite the air of economic credibility he carried with voters. Years of micro-managing and the perception (of some caucus members at least) that he did little to support the ideas of others, caught up with him when he no longer had the absolute power of Key and English in his corner. Joyce is a talented politician and his record proves it. He also made a significant contribution to New Zealand business and the lives of a number of lower income New Zealanders in his last budget - even if many of the ideas from his Families Package are now to be enacted by the current Government. Bridges had offered Joyce a front bench position, but he would not retain finance and with that would likely be forced to step down in the ranks. But the jovial face of the party's economic policy has opportunities outside politics. He may not have been forcibly pushed from the party but really, the party left Joyce with very few reasons to stay.